


Us Against Them

by airam06



Series: Stardust [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean and Cas fall in love, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Mild Angst, No Major Character Death, Smut, happiness, ridiculous amounts of smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-05
Updated: 2014-07-05
Packaged: 2018-02-07 14:29:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 40,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1902507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airam06/pseuds/airam06
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Cas mysteriously shows up during a hopeless moment, he and Dean work through their feelings for each other. When Sam leaves them alone to go with Bobby for a few days, both take the time to truly explore their emotions...and each other. But a battle is coming between Heaven and Hell. Who will win? And what will it mean for Dean and Cas? Fluff and smut. First fic in the Stardust series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“ _Tell me where he is_ ,” the terrible voice growled at Dean.

Dean looked straight into the demon’s eyes.

“No.”

The demon roared in fury, throwing Dean across the room. He crashed into wall and slid painfully to the floor. 

“Tell me, or you won’t be leaving this room alive,” the demon said.

Dean laughed.

“Yeah, like you’ll let me walk out of here if I tell you. It doesn’t matter, I don’t know where he is,” Dean said.

“Oh, we both know that’s a lie. You and the angel are quite close. You have to know where he is.”

Dean felt a pang in his chest. He didn’t know where Cas was. He hadn’t seen him in weeks. But even if he did, there was no way he was telling this demon scum.

“I have no idea. What do you want with him?” Dean asked aggressively.

The demon leered at him.

“Since you do not know where he is, you are of no use to me,” he said. He raised his hands, and Dean winced.

With an almighty crash, the door fell in. Sam stood there, grasping a bucket full of water.

“Go to hell,” he said, and flung the water over the demon.

The demon gave a horrified scream, and disappeared, smoking out. Holy water.

“Just in time, baby bro. But I could have taken him,” Dean said, getting to his feet.

“I'm sure,” Sam said wryly.

“What did he want?” Sam asked.

“To know where Cas is,” Dean answered. 

“What for?”

“No idea. But it can’t be good. You don’t think Cas has switched sides?” Dean asked.

“I doubt it. Have you tried praying to him?” Sam asked.

“Yeah,” Dean nodded.

He didn’t tell Sam he’d been praying every night since Cas vanished. He missed having him around. One day, he and Sam had woken up to find Cas gone. No note, no explanation. Just missing. Dean had been nearly out of his mind with worry. But if the demons were looking for Cas, that means at least he hadn’t been found by the enemy yet.

Sam maneuvered the car into a parking space in front of their motel. Dean grimaced as he climbed out of the Impala to go inside.

Sam collapsed on his bed and was asleep almost instantly.

Dean lay down on his own bed, examining his bruises and cuts. Damn, more scars. He looked over at Sam, to make sure he was really asleep. Then he quietly clasped his hands together.

“Cas,” he whispered. “I don’t know where you are. I don’t know if you can even hear me. But I was attacked tonight, by a demon. He was looking for you. Please, let me know if you’re okay…please _be_ okay.”

He was quiet for a minute, practically willing the angel to appear. But the room stayed dark and silent. Dean shook his head. He rolled over, trying in vain to get some sleep and forget about his missing best friend.

*

“Dean? Dean, wake up,” Sam said.

“I’m up. What’s wrong?” Dean asked.

“I have a case for us. It’s from a few hours south of here. It looks like some pets are being killed.”

“Really, Sam? You want us to go save puppies and kitties now?” Dean asked.

“They are missing their insides. The owners find them gutted completely out. So yeah, I want to investigate puppies and kitties,” Sam said.

“Yeah, that sounds like our kind of thing. Alright, let’s get going,” Dean said. 

Sam grabbed a bag and walked out to the car.

“Cas, we’re headed south now for a case. I’ll pray to you when I get there and let you know our hotel,” Dean said.

“What did you say?” Sam said, coming back into the room.

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

*

Two and a half hours later, Sam and Dean pulled into the town of Sanford, Tennessee.

“Damn, looks like a whole lot of nothing around here,” Dean said.

The town was a typical southern farm town. They had a grocery store, a Wal Mart, and more livestock than people. Main street was one road, about a mile long, full of mom and pop stores, most of which had closed up shop in the sixties, judging by their décor. 

“Let’s find our first witness,” Sam said.

Soon, they were knocking on the door of an elderly woman. 

“Yes?” she said when she answered.

“Hello, ma’am. I’m Ranger Carlisle and this is Ranger Winstead. We’re with the Tennessee Fish and Game Department. We’d like to ask you a few questions about your pet. May we come in?” Sam asked.

“Certainly.”

She brought the two men to her stuffy living room, and sat them on an antique couch.

“Would you two like some tea?” she asked.

“Oh, no thank you. So have you lived in Sanford for a long time?” Dean asked.

“My whole life, child. There’s just no other place like it. Most everyone here is real friendly,” she said.

“We were sorry to hear about the loss of your dog. We’ve been looking into it, trying to figure out the animal that did it,” Dean said.

“Weren’t no animal,” a man said from the doorway.

“Hush, Ron, they’re just doing their job,” the woman said to him.

“You don’t believe it was an animal? How do you know?” Sam asked.

“Sonny, I grew up here in this area. I been hunting and trapping animals since before you was born. Nothing, and I mean _nothing_ , kills its prey like our Abby was killed. Insides taken clean out. Weren’t no rhyme or reason to it, neither. You’d think if something was going to kill her, it would eat her. But no, left her body intact, just slit her stomach and pulled everything out to take. Damndest thing I ever saw.”

“Well, we’ll look into it. If you get any ideas, here’s our card,” Dean said, handing it to the man.

“Thank you,” the elderly woman said, as she showed Dean and Sam to the door. “I hope you find whatever is doing this to the pets here.”

*

“What are you thinking, Sam?” Dean asked his brother.

“I’m not sure yet. There are some religions that use animal sacrifice, like Santeria. But chupacabras will also attack animals that way,” Sam said.

“Chupacabras? As in the goat sucking thing from Mexico?” Dean asked.

“It used to just be Mexico, but some sightings have been happening in the southwest U.S. I have no idea why one would be this far away,” Sam said.

“That’s just a legend, Sammy.”

“So is almost everything we hunt.”

He made a damn good point.

*

Dean and Sam didn’t know anything about chupacabras, and their dad didn’t have anything listed in his journal for them. They decided their best bet was a Mexican family that lived on the edge of town.

They went to visit them that very evening. Dean knocked on the door, and a pretty young Spanish woman opened it.

“Si?” she asked

“Hello, I’m Ranger-,” Dean began.

“Lo siento, no puedo hablar ingles,” the woman said.

Dean looked confused.

“What-?” he began.

“Senorita, hablo un poco de espanol. Es muy malo, lo siento,” Sam rambled off.

Dean stared at his brother as the woman smiled. She and Sam talked a bit more before she let them come in the house. An hour later, Dean and Sam left, Sam grinning broadly.

“What the hell, man? When did you learn Spanish?” Dean asked.

“College is good for all kinds of things, Dean,” Sam said. 

“What did she say? I didn’t get any of that,” Dean asked.

“Not a whole lot about the chupacabras. She says they would be unable to live in this part of the country. They need consistent, dry heat to survive, and Tennessee doesn’t have that.”

“If it isn’t a chupacabra, what is it?” Dean asked.

Sam thought for a moment.

“Do you remember what the first lady we went to see said about her neighbors?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, she said everyone was friendly,” Dean answered.

“No, she said most everyone was friendly,” Sam answered.

“So?” Dean asked.

“We know small towns. People always say that _everyone_ is nice,” Sam said.

Dean nodded.

“Let’s go find out which neighbors aren’t too neighborly,” he said.

*

“I’m happy to see you boys again,” the old woman said, snuffing out a candle as the brothers came to sit in her living room.

“Thank you. I’m so sorry, what was your name again?” Sam asked.

“It’s not a problem. I forget names all the time. It’s Maggie Birch,” she said.

“Well, Mrs. Birch, we wanted to know some more about your neighbors. You said to us that almost everyone in town was easy to get along with. Who isn’t?” Dean asked.

“It’s hardly my place to gossip about my neighbors,” she said to Dean.

“Please, ma’am. It’s not gossip, we just want to know so we can follow up with them on the animal killings. We’d like to know if we’re talking to good people,” Sam said with a smile.

“Well, I suppose that’s true…okay, fine. Nearly everyone here is perfect to live near. But there’s one family, a Spanish family, out near the county line. They give me the willies. I see them buying strange things at the grocery store. And that mother…there’s something going on there.”

“What do you mean?” Sam asked.

“Honey, they’ve lived here for twenty years. She hasn’t aged a day.”

*

“Buying strange things? Not aging? That sounds like magic to me. Are you thinking witch?” Dean asked, as he and Sam checked into their motel room that evening.

“Maybe. She did look young. I wouldn’t have said she was over thirty. I’ll do some research, see what I can dig up on Santeria,” Sam said, heaving off the bed to take a much needed shower.

Dean waited until he heard the water running and the curtain close. Then he clasped his hands and closed his eyes.

“Cas? It’s me again. Sam and I are in Sanford, Tennessee. We’re staying at the Honey Inn, room 210. Please, man, I don’t know where you are, and it’s starting to scare me. I don’t scare easy…I can’t lose you. You’re my best friend. Hell, you’re my only friend…anyway, there’s some creepy stuff going on around here. A woman who doesn’t age, maybe Santeria. Please, Cas, come back. I can’t do this without you,” Dean prayed.

He opened his eyes and looked around the room.

“Castiel,” he said, hoping the name would bring him. “Cas, please…”

He heard the shower cut off, and sat back up quickly. 

“Your turn, Dean,” Sam said, walking out to throw on his pajamas.

“Yeah, man, I’m coming,” Dean said, and walked into the bathroom.

Sam watched him go. He looked stressed. He thought about asking Dean, but knew he’d never talk about it, whatever it was. Sam sighed, and opened his laptop to find any information on Santeria he could.

He googled the word, bringing up several sites on the topic. They talked about protective rituals and readings similar to palm reading. While they did use animals for sacrifice, the whole animal was usually taken, not just the innards. Sam frowned. Something wasn’t adding up. He couldn’t find anything about preventing aging through Santeria. All of the rituals seemed to focus on protection and healing, not dark magic.

He clicked through more sites. He saw the things that practitioners of the religion needed to have for rituals. His eyes fell on a tall white candle. He cocked his head slightly. Where had he seen that before? 

“Finding anything?” Dean asked as he walked back into the room.

“Yeah…I can’t find much on using Santeria to stop aging though.”

“People always use magic in a way we don’t know about, Sam. I think we should go check on the house tonight, see what we can find,” Dean said.

“Tonight? Don’t you think they’ll be home?” Sam asked.

“It’s Sunday, Sammy. Where is everyone on a Sunday night in a small town like this?” Dean asked.

“Church. But they practice Santeria,” Sam said.

“Do you really think they want their neighbors to know that? Appearances are everything,” Dean said.

Sam nodded. He grabbed his clothes to throw back on. So much for a relaxing evening in the motel.

Before long, he and Dean were driving back over to the Garces’ home. 

“What exactly are you expecting to find?” Sam asked Dean. “Rotting animal intestines? A witch’s cauldron simmering in the kitchen?”

“I’ll know it when I see it,” Dean said as they parked the car a few driveways away from where the Garces family lived.

He and Sam crept silently to the house, picking the lock in seconds. Once inside, they split up to take a look. Sam moved to the living room, while Dean went on to the kitchen. He pulled open drawers, looked in the refrigerator, and checked the cabinets. Nothing out of place there. He moved back to the living room to find Sam.

“Anything?” he whispered.

“Nothing,” Sam said. “And look over the mantle there.”

Dean glanced up. There was a Catholic crucifix hanging there, along with a rosary. Suddenly, he heard a car pull into the driveway. He peeked out the window.

“Shit, Sam, that’s the family. Go out the back,” he said.

They ran quickly through the home and made it out the back door.

“I have one mystery figured out,” Dean said once they were safely back in the car. “That woman has been aging. You were talking to her daughter. She looks exactly like her. Did you ever actually ask if she was the mother?”

Sam shook his head. 

“Damn. If it isn’t them, then who is it?” Dean asked. “Do you have any bright ideas?”

Bright.

The image of a candle being snuffed out flooded Sam’s mind.

“I think I know who it is.”

*

“You think it’s Maggie Birch? She’s about 65 years old. There’s no anti-aging magic going on there,” Dean said as they arrived back to the inn.

“I couldn’t find anything about anti-aging magic. Whatever she’s doing, it’s not that. I think she was just moving our attention away from her. But killing her own dog?” Sam asked.

“Really, Sam? After everything we’ve seen, some old woman offing her dog is confusing to you?” Dean said, walking back into their room. He instinctively looked around for Cas, but he wasn’t there.

“We’ll go surprise her tomorrow,” Dean said. “Right now, I just want to go to bed.”

He and Sam put on their bed clothes and climbed into their beds.

“Night, Dean,” Sam said, before rolling over.

“Night, Sammy,” Dean said quietly. He waited for the snores to come from Sam’s bed.

“Hey Cas,” he whispered into his clasped hands. “It’s Dean. Turns out our lead on the anti-aging witch was wrong. We think it’s actually an old lady here in town that’s killing the animals. We don’t know why, but we’re going to find out tomorrow…I hope you’re safe. I miss you, man. Come back to me-us soon. We need you…I don’t think we realized how much until you were gone. Please, Cas. Please be okay.”

He rolled over onto his side, and was snoring within minutes. 

Sam sat up to look at him. Man, he’d been pretending to be asleep around Dean for years to hear his conversations. He thought he would have caught on by now. First with dad as a kid, then when Dean talked to girls on the phone. He’d never heard Dean sound like this before. This was heartache on a level he’d never shown, not even when dad died. 

It was late before Sam finally closed his eyes. What was happening with his brother?

*

“You’re sure about this?” Sam asked as he and Sam drove to Maggie’s house the next morning.

“Positive,” Dean answered.

Maggie answered the door, looking surprised to see the two boys.

“Any leads?” she asked, as she brought them into her house.

“Yes, we think so,” Sam said.

“I’m sorry, Maggie, may I use your restroom?” Dean asked with a smile.

“Of course. First door upstairs on the left,” she said, then leaned in to speak with Sam.

Dean thanked her, and walked up the stairs. He bypassed the bathroom and walked down the hall. He saw a closed door at the very end. He opened the door and saw a man laid out on a table.

“Mr. Birch!” he yelled, running to him. The table was in a circle of chalk. There were white candles lit everywhere, and a strong smell of sulfur. He shook Mr. Birch hard on the shoulder. The man’s head rolled to the side, revealing a large, deep gash on his neck. But no blood was coming out. Dean checked for a pulse and didn’t find one.

This wasn’t Santeria, he realized. This was demonic. He turned to run back down the stairs, but the wooden door slammed in his face. He pounded on it.

“No! Sam! _Sam_!” he yelled.

He heard scuffling downstairs, followed by a yell from Sam. Dean kicked the door with all his might. It opened into hall, falling off its hinges. Dean rushed down the stairs. Sammy was lying unconscious on the floor.

“Sam!” he yelled, before everything went black.

*

When he came to, he was chained to a cinderblock wall in the dark. He raised his hands to check the shackles.

“Of course,” he sighed.

“Dean?” a voice called out in the dark.

“Sammy? Damn, man, I’m glad to see you. Well, hear you anyway. What the hell is going on? Where is Maggie?” Dean asked.

“I don’t know, man. You went upstairs, and I was asking her about Santeria. She flipped. I don’t know, her face changed, her voice changed. The next thing I know, she’s attacking me, and I woke up here. Her eyes, Dean, they turned black. She’s a-,” Sam began.

“A demon. Yeah, I know. I found her husband, or whoever the hell he is, dead upstairs. Are we in her basement? How long have we been out?” Dean asked.

“It’s hard to tell. There was some sunlight coming in through that corner over there, but it went down at least an hour ago. The best I can figure, it’s sometime around eight.”

“What do the demons want with us? Do you think this is over Cas?” Dean asked.

At that moment, a door creaked open near them, light flooding in the dirty room. Dean blinked and looked. It was Maggie, alright, or at least her body. Her eyes were a deep black.

“Come with us,” she said, pulling the chains out of the wall easily and leading Dean and Sam like dogs on a leash.

“Us? How many of you are there?” Dean asked.

Maggie just grinned and pulled the two into the living room. Dean grimaced. There were at least thirty people milling about. Demons, every last one of them.

“Sit down, boys,” Maggie said, shoving them roughly onto a couch. “You skipped out on us last time. But we have you both, so no tricks. Now…where is the angel?”

“No idea. Why don’t you use some of your soulless cronies to go find out?” Dean asked.

“Wrong answer,” Maggie said.

She reached out and waved her hand. Dean and Sam were both lifted off the couch and thrown back against the wall behind it. They slid down, back onto the dilapidated sofa. 

“No, there is a better way to make the old one talk,” a man said from the background. He stepped forward. “Let me see the younger brother.”

Dean’s eyes widened as Sammy was pulled up to standing next to the man.

“Let’s try this again. Where is the angel?” Maggie asked.

“I told you, I don’t know, I haven’t seen him in weeks,” Dean said loudly.

The demon in the man leered at Dean. He lifted his hand, and Sam shook like a ragdoll. Then he began to use his talon-like fingernails to scratch him. Sam yelled out in pain.

“No, please! Please believe me, I have no idea where Castiel is. Don’t hurt my brother, no-,” Dean said wildly.

“I am going to ask you one more time,” Maggie said in a dangerous voice, leaning in close to Dean. “Tell me where the angel is, or else.”

Behind her, the demon produced a long, crooked dagger. He held it to Sam’s throat. Dean’s eyes met Sam’s, exchanging terrified looks. 

Then, without warning, all hell broke loose.


	2. Chapter 2

A bright light filled the room. Dean clamped his eyes shut until it faded. He opened them, looking around for Sam, when his eyes fell on the man in the middle of the room.

_Cas._

Cas reached out and touched the demon holding onto Sam lightly on the shoulder. He burst into flame immediately and fell to the floor in a pile of dust. The other demons closed in on Cas, but they were no match for the angel. Cas raised his hands, and angelic light poured into the room. The demons tried to run, but Cas was far too fast; he burned them, each and every one, before anyone could leave the room. All was quiet in a matter of seconds.

“Sammy!” Dean yelled out.

“I’m fine, Dean. Just sore,” Sam said from the floor.

Cas let the brothers out of their chains.

Dean and Cas’ eyes met, and they stared at each other for a moment.

“Cas,” Dean began, but Sam cut him off.

“Later, Dean. We need to get the hell out of here. Now.”

They piled into the Impala, and headed back to the motel. The ride was tense; no one spoke. They were hardly back into the room when Dean’s voice broke the silence.

“What the hell, Cas?” Dean yelled.

“You’re welcome,” Cas said coolly.

“I’m just going to-you know, the bathroom,” Sam stuttered, leaving both of them to it. “And Cas…thanks.”

Cas nodded as Sam walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

Cas sat softly onto the edge of the bed. He kept his eyes trained on the floor.

“I prayed to you every night. Shit, sometimes I prayed to you over and over every day! And no answer? We could have been killed tonight. What the hell is going on?” Dean said.

“They’re after me,” Cas said.

“You think so?” Dean asked in mock surprise. “They’ve been hunting me and Sam trying to find you. I nearly lost my brother tonight because of you. I have given everything, _everything_ , for Sam, and I nearly lost him because of some damn war between Heaven and hell. What did you do?”

Cas sighed.

“I have been fighting. The demons are aware that I pose a threat to them, and have been trying to stop me in any way possible. It was only a matter of time before they found you,” Cas said.

“So you left me alone? Knowing demons were after Sam and I? Cas, what the hell is the matter with you?”

“I knew we had to keep our distance. If they suspected we were anything other than a man and his guardian angel, you would have been in worse trouble. I didn’t expect them to come after you,” Cas said.

“I prayed to you, Cas. You couldn’t answer? You couldn’t tell me that Sam and I were walking into a trap?” Dean asked.

“No, Dean. I needed you, so I could find them.”

“I was bait?” Dean said loudly.

“You have done this before, to countless people,” Cas said.

“But never to you! I would never dangle you in front of demons!” Dean yelled.

Cas stood, and though Dean was much taller than the angel, he felt power radiating from the small frame.

“You are my best friend. I would never let anything happen to you,” Cas said.

“Yeah,” Dean nodded. “Best friends don’t do things like that, Cas. Screw this, I’m going to bed.”

Dean walked past the angel and moved to the bathroom door.

“Come on out, Sam. I need to shower,” he said.

The door opened instantly, and Sam stepped out. Dean walked in without a backwards glance at Cas. Dean slammed the door behind him, the sudden silence ringing out in the motel room.

Cas sank back down on the bed.

“Cas? You okay?” Sam asked.

“No. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to put you in danger. Dean cares so much for you. I can understand why he’s upset with me,” Cas said.

“I don’t know if that’s why he’s angry, Cas,” Sam said, sinking down onto the bed next to him. “He prayed to you every night. I heard him. He told you where he was. He asked you, begged you, to show up. And you never did. I don’t know what was going on with him, but I’ve never seen Dean act like that before.”

“You think he is mad at me for keeping him safe?” Cas asked.

“No,” Sam said. “I think he’s mad at you for making him miss you.”

*

Dean had walked out of the bathroom, thrown on his bedclothes, and laid down without a word. With a nervous glance at the other two, Sam had decided to take a walk. Forget it, he thought. Let the two of them fight out whatever the hell this is.

The moment the door to the room had closed behind Sam, Cas had risen and come to sit at the bottom of Dean’s bed. 

“Dean,” he began.

“Shove it up your ass.”

“Please, listen to me,” Cas said.

“Why? You didn’t listen to me,” Dean snapped.

“I did. I heard you. Every word you said. But I couldn’t come back yet. This war, it’s bigger than me. I had to wait for the right time.”

“Then why come at all? Now the demons know where you are. They know we’re in contact with each other. It’s not like we’re ever really safe, but now we’re screwed,” Dean said.

“Because,” Cas said, walking around the bed and kneeling to face Dean. “You are more important than any war.”

Dean sat up on the bed.

“Don’t say that. I am one person on a planet of billions. You can’t put me above anyone else, dammit. Promise you won’t do it again,” Dean said.

“Dean, I-,” Cas said, but Dean interrupted.

“Promise me. Or you can walk your angel ass out of here right now, and Sammy and I can deal with this on our own.”

Cas looked into Dean’s eyes. How could he ask him to do something like that? Didn’t Dean realize how special he was? Cas opened his mouth to give Dean an answer. As he did, a strangled cry rang out from the other side of the motel door.

*

“ _Sammy_!” Dean yelled, grabbing his gun and running to the door to throw it open. Cas followed him. He saw two people standing over an unconscious Sam.

“Hey!” he yelled, and the creatures turned. He saw their teeth and heard them hiss slightly. Vampires. Dean lifted his gun and shot, hitting one of them in the chest with a silver bullet. She slumped to her side as the other vampire dropped Sam and jumped in a car.

Dean ran to Sam’s side, and felt for a pulse. He found one. Sighing in relief, he turned to Cas.

“Can you heal him?” Dean asked.

“I can try. Let’s get him back to the motel room,” Cas said.

He and Dean carried Sam back in the room and laid him on the bed. Cas touched him on the forehead with two fingers. His physical wounds healed, but he didn’t wake up.

“What’s wrong with him? Why isn’t it working?” Dean asked.

“Look at his arm. He’s been injected with something, and I would say it’s demonic. The vampires and demons must be working together now. I can keep him alive and healed, but I think we just have to let this poison run its course,” Cas said.

“Perfect. Let’s get out of here. We don’t need them coming back with any friends.”

*

They pulled into Bobby’s a few hours later, and dragged Sam into a bedroom.

“Damn, they really did a number on the kid,” Bobby said.

“What did they do? Have you seen this before?” Dean asked.

“I don’t think so. I’ll keep doing some research. Until I can figure it out, you stay put.”

Bobby left to read over his mountain of books, and Dean sat down in a chair next to his brother.

“Everything will be fine,” Cas said, putting his hand on Dean’s shoulder. “I can heal him if he gets sick.”

Dean nodded.

“Thanks, Cas. But can I get a minute alone?” Dean said.

Cas tilted his head, and walked over to the door. He let the brothers have a moment of peace.

“Sam, man, you got to wake up. I don’t know what they did, but you have to get up,” Dean said, patting his brother on the chest. “I’ve lost you so many times.”

He lay back in the chair in the room. Before long, he had closed his eyes and was fast asleep.

“Dean?” he felt a gentle push on his shoulder.

“Mmph?” he mumbled.

“Dean, get up. I thought you might be hungry,” Cas said.

Dean opened his eyes in the dim room. Cas was standing in front of him, a plate of mac and cheese steaming in one hand and a beer in the other.

“What time is it?” he asked.

“About two in the morning,” Cas answered. “You haven’t eaten anything, so I cooked.”

“Thanks, Cas,” Dean said, taking the food and beginning to eat. It was horrible. Cas had left huge chunks of powdered cheese in it, and must have poured a quarter cup of salt in. He looked over and saw Cas beaming with pride at having cooked.

“How is it?” he asked.

“It’s…perfect. Really good,” Dean said with a smile. He took another bite to prove his point, then sat the plate on a table near him. “But I’m not all that hungry right now.”

“You’re still worried about Sam. I’ve been checking on him. He is fine, just asleep. I don’t know how long it will last, but it can’t be long. Surely the demons would have wanted to question him about my whereabouts. They just needed him asleep long enough to make the journey to their hideout.”

He knelt and put his hand on Dean’s knee.

“He will be fine, you have my word,” Cas said.

Dean put his hand on Cas’. Cas grinned and adjusted his legs. He came closer to Dean, who breath caught in his throat. Cas stood.

“If you need me, I’ll be here. I thought I’d go do some research while Bobby is sleeping,” Cas said.

“That’s a good idea,” Dean said, rising too. He glanced over at his brother, who was still sleeping peacefully. He hated research, but he would do anything for Sammy.

He and Cas walked down to the study in silence. What was going on? Why did Dean’s body react that way to Cas being so close? He shook his head. It must be nerves with Sam being so sick.

He and Cas walked into the study, filled to the brim with books as always. Dean chose one on demonology and sat on the sofa by the fire. Cas picked one as well, and sank down right next to Dean. He looked around. Why hadn’t Cas sat in one of the other chairs? He glanced over at Cas, who was concentrating on his book.

The pair sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, listening to the crack of the fire and watching the shadows move against the words in their books. Finally, Cas spoke.

“What do you think about human sexuality?” he said seriously.

“What are you talking about?” Dean asked, his pulse quickening. Where the hell had that come from?

“I was reading in this book about a demon called a succubus, and though I don't believe it is what we're dealing with, it made me think of human sexuality. I don’t have much experience in that,” Cas said.

“What-what did you want to know?” Dean asked him. Jesus, he didn't want to explain the birds and the bees right now.

“Is it a set rule in a person’s mind? Like Bobby. Bobby likes women sexually, but does that mean he would never be sexually interested in a male?” Cas said.

Whatever Dean had been expecting, that certainly wasn't it.

"I think Bobby is basically set in stone at this point."

"Are all humans like that?" Cas asked.

"What are you getting at, Cas?" Dean asked, his face reddening.

"You watch Dr. Sexy on television," Cas said, and Dean was thrown by the sudden change in topic.

"Yeah, so?"

“You had an attraction to him,” Cas said, coming closer to Dean on the couch.

“Whoa, whoa!" Dean said, raising his hands. "I didn't want Dr. Sexy very much, and it was for the plot! Damn, dude. There wasn't 'an attraction' to him or anything."

“How about me?” Cas said suddenly. “Do you have an attraction to me?”

Dean’s heart pumped hard against his chest. He didn’t answer Cas, who had tilted his head and was patiently awaiting an answer. He looked into his eyes.

“I...Cas, I don't-,” Dean answered.

"Oh," Cas said, sitting back slightly. "It is fine if you don't. I only wanted to ask."

"No! I mean, you know, it's just that you're a guy, and I like women. Not that I don't like _you_ , but I've never been with a guy before, and, yeah, you're not really a guy, you're an angel. But you're still _wearing_ a guy, and-," Dean stuttered out.

Cas looked heartbroken, and Dean was suddenly filled with emotion. Emotions that he'd only ever had for women in his life, but somehow, with Cas, it was different. It wasn't a gender with him. It was just _Cas_.

"Aw, screw it."

He moved his hand to the back of Cas’ head and slowly pulled him in. Their lips met. Dean turned his head to deepen the kiss. He could feel Cas smiling. Cas brought his hand up to meet Dean’s, entwining their fingers together. Finally, they pulled apart. Cas leaned his forehead against Dean’s and let out a small laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Dean asked.

“I never thought this would happen,” Cas said.

“Me either, really. But I’m sure glad it did,” Dean said.

He leaned back in for another kiss. This time, Cas deepened the kiss. Dean gave a small moan. Their tongues swirled around each other as their hands felt every inch of the other they could reach. Dean moved his hands down Cas’ back, while Cas squeezed Dean’s upper arms to feel their muscle.

“Holy shit!” a voice came from the doorway. “How long was I asleep?”

“Hey-hey, Sammy,” Dean said, raising up.

“Yeah, hey, Dean…am I interrupting something?” Sam asked. He knew this had been coming, but he still didn’t expect to walk in on his brother and Cas going at it like two teenagers.

“No, it’s okay. How are you feeling?” Dean asked, embarrassed and wanting to change the subject as quickly as possible.

“Like a truck ran over my face. What happened?”

“You were attacked by some vampires. I believe they are working with the demons to try and find my whereabouts,” Cas said.

“Why? What’s going on?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, Cas, you haven’t been too clear on that with me either,” Dean said.

Cas looked from brother to brother.

“No, I suppose I have not,” Cas said, sinking backwards into the couch. “The problem is that since I have gained my Grace back, I have been leading small armies of angels to take on the demons. We have been very successful. The demons are afraid, they fear the organization I have accomplished. I believe they think if I were no longer in a position of power, they would win this war. I think they may be right, for the angels are disorganized without me.”

“Cas, why aren’t you there now? Don’t they need you?” Dean asked.

“That’s why I was gone for so long. The angels have their orders from me, enough to handle this war on their own for weeks before I need to return. If I don’t return, though, they will surely lose. Demons do not fight fair.”

“Honestly, Cas, it’s not like angels do either,” Sam grinned. “What do you need us to do?”

“Nothing. I need you to stay here and keep safe. If the demons catch you again, I can guarantee they will come more prepared,” Cas said.

“We can’t stay here while the war goes on! You know it could be years before it’s over, if it even ends,” Dean said angrily.

“You cannot help, Dean,” Cas said.

A silence fell across the room. Sam cleared his throat.

“You can’t expect us to stay here forever. I know you want to protect us. Both of us,” Sam said with a quick glance at his brother. “We’re fighters. We can only stay out of the way for so long.”

Cas and Dean were glaring at each other across the room. Sam knew better than to get in the way of the two of them. Mumbling something about needing to eat, he left the room, sighing in exasperation.

“Dean,” Cas began, but Dean cut him off.

“No way. Not a chance.”

“I did not admit my feelings for you just to have you get killed by your own stubbornness! Angels and demons have nothing to lose. You do.”

“I have lost everything. This whole war, this whole life, I have done nothing but give. My mom, my dad, my brother more than once, and even you. Please, Cas. I can’t lose everyone and do nothing about it. I can’t sit here knowing you are out there, maybe never coming back.”

“And how do you think I would feel with two mortals in the fray?” Cas asked.

“We’re not helpless! You’ve seen what we can do.”

“Not to an army of this scale. There are more than you know. They will tear you limb from limb and drag you back to Hell, and I do not know if I could pull you out this time,” Cas said. “Please, Dean. Listen to me, just this once.”

He crossed the room in a few steps to take Dean’s hand in his. Dean felt his chest tighten at the look of worry in his eyes. He gave a small nod.

“One week, Cas. We’ll stay put for one week. After that, we join the fight, with or without your approval.”

Cas sighed.

“I suppose that’s the best I can hope for at the moment.”

Dean gave a slight smile. The angel was just worried about him, and it’s not like he could blame him. After all, how many times had he died in his life already? He raised Cas’ hand to his lips and kissed it gently. Cas closed his eyes at the sweet gesture. The look of pure relaxation made Dean’s heart flutter. He leaned down and kissed Cas softly on the forehead.

“Let’s enjoy this week, Dean,” Cas said, walking to the door. “Come on, I’ll make you some more mac and cheese. Maybe you can show me how to do it this time.”

“It was good before,” Dean said.

“Please. Angel, remember? I can read your thoughts.”

Dean grinned and followed Cas to the kitchen.

“Ah, there they are,” Sam said to Bobby as the pair walked in. Judging from clueless look on Bobby’s face, Sam hadn’t told him anything about what he’d walked in on.

“What are you doing up, Bobby? It’s four in the morning,” Dean asked.

“Hard to sleep when all of Heaven and Hell are about to clash on Earth. Good to see that Sam’s up though,” Bobby said, clapping Sam on the back.

“Yeah, just sore,” Sam said, rubbing the shoulder blade that Bobby had smacked.

“Sorry about that. So what are we doing about the war?” Bobby asked.

“Nothing for a week. After that, we’ll see,” Dean answered.

“ _A week_? You’re just going to sit here and frolic around while the world ends? That’s not like you boys,” Bobby frowned.

“Yeah, we know. It’s a personal favor,” Dean said, casting a glance at Cas.

“Well, I think I’ve found a case up in Montana. A few girls have been murdered at a sorority house at a university. I’m thinking ghost, I’ve dug up a murder suicide that happened there back in the eighties. I could use some help,” Bobby said.

“I’ll go,” Sam volunteered.

Bobby looked surprised.

“I thought it would be Dean, with all those college girls running around. But sure, son, you come on along. I figure the trip will take a few days, but we shouldn’t be gone more than a week or so. Pretty basic, salt and burn kind of trip,” Bobby said.

“Have fun up there, Sammy. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Dean said.

Sam shook his head and went to grab his duffle bag. Bobby shuffled out behind him, then stopped to turn back to Dean and Cas.

“By the way, boys, I ain’t stupid or blind. This has been coming on for years. It’s about damn time you two admitted it instead of staring down each other when you thought the rest of us weren’t looking,” Bobby said.

Dean smiled.

“You’re awesome, Bobby. Have a good trip. Take care of Sammy.”

“Will do. You take good care of Cas,” Bobby grinned and went out to start his car.

“Hey, call if you need anything,” Sam said, as he walked back into the room.

“Same goes for you. And Sammy…be careful,” Dean said, clapping Sam on the back.

“You know me,” Sam said, throwing his duffle bag onto his shoulder before leaving the house. He closed the door quietly behind him.

“So, looks like we get to play house for a whole week,” Dean said with a smile. “How are we going to keep ourselves from getting bored?”

“I think we will figure something out,” Cas said.

Dean thought so too.

The silence in the room swelled between Cas and Dean after Sam and Bobby left. Shit, Dean thought. Now he had to deal with these feelings. Would Cas want to talk about them?

“I’m starving. Pancakes? Or would you prefer something else?” Cas asked, turning to go into the kitchen.

“Um, that sounds fine. Can I help you this time?” Dean asked.

“Please.”

Dean couldn’t believe the angel didn’t want to talk about what had happened between them in the study. He set to work finding a skillet and flour to make the batter.

“Coffee?” Cas asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Dean said.

Cas began to make a pot, while Dean quietly mixed up the batter for the pancakes and dolled it out into the pan. It was quiet. Dean couldn’t stand it.

“Okay, man, what the hell?” Dean asked suddenly.

Cas looked bewildered.

“What did I do?” he asked.

“We made out with each other and you just don’t bring it up?” Dean asked.

“I know you do not like to discuss feelings. I thought it would make it hard for you, so I decided to let you talk about it when you were ready,” Cas said, pulling the syrup down from a shelf and setting it on the table.

Damn. The angel did understand him. Dean felt like an ass.

“Ew,” Cas said, examining his fingers, sticky from syrup residue on the bottle. He walked toward the sink to wash his fingers off. Dean caught his arm before he could turn on the water.

He brought Cas’ syrupy fingers to his mouth, swirling his tongue around each one to clean the syrup off. Cas closed his eyes at the erotic feeling and Dean had to suppress a smile. He moved his mouth down to nibble on the soft flesh between Cas’ thumb and pointer finger. Cas made a soft sound in the back of his throat. Dean let go of his hand and moved back over to the stove to make breakfast.

“You don’t play fair,” Cas said. “You tease.”

“I don’t do any such thing. I was just cleaning your hands off for you,” Dean said.

Suddenly, Dean felt hands on his waist, spinning him around to face Cas. He felt a shiver go through him when he realized how close the angel was. Cas leaned in, barely brushing his lips across Dean’s neck, while his fingers traced circles down the hunter’s toned body. 

“You do not want to start a teasing war with me, Dean,” Cas breathed into his ear, nipping it slightly with his teeth. “You are sure to cave before I am.”

Cas tilted his head closer to Dean’s, their mouths nearly touching. Cas slipped his tongue out and slowly licked Dean’s bottom lip. Then he blew a hot breath on the moisture, making every hair on Dean’s body stand up. He pulled away, leaving Dean breathless.

“Are you sure about that?” Dean asked, trying to recover some of his resolve. Years of tension had brought this on, and he felt like he could break at any moment.

He moved forward and caught the angel in his arms. He slipped his hands under Cas’ shirt, dragging his nails and calloused hands down his back. Cas gave a soft moan, then leaned in to speak directly in Dean’s ear.

“I’m sure. And you are burning breakfast,” Cas said.

“Shit!” Dean straightened up and hurried back to the stove, trying to ignore Cas’ laughter behind him.

“This isn’t over,” he said in a huff.

Cas only laughed harder.

Breakfast was saved, but the pair ate their meal with knowing glances at each other, unnecessarily brushing hands when they reached for things, just to feel the electricity between them. 

Dean tried to pull his thoughts together. So the angel wanted a personal war? No problem. He could hold out longer than Cas any day. At least that’s what he kept telling himself. But Cas kept shooting him knowing glances the rest of the day, “accidentally” bumping into him, looking for any excuse to touch him. After dinner that night, they sat down in the living room, knees slightly brushing.

“How about a movie?” Cas asked.

“Yeah, that sounds good. But I get to pick. No lovey mushy crap,” Dean said sternly.

“Whatever you want,” Cas said, standing up. “Before we do that, though, I think I’d like to take a shower.”

“Angels don’t need to shower, Cas,” Dean said, but Cas ignored the comment with a smirk. Carefully, he began to slip off his tie and unbutton his shirt, one painstakingly slow button at a time. Dean’s breath hitched in his throat. Cas smiled as he reached the last button, and slid the shirt off his shoulders, letting it drop gracefully to the floor.

Cas looked Dean straight in the eyes as he smoothed his hand over the button on his pants. With a small, sensual pop, the button opened.

“Okay, popcorn. I’ll make popcorn,” Dean said, jumping up and hurrying to the kitchen. He thought he could hear Cas laughing.

Red in the face, Dean set to making the popcorn. He was losing this war. He needed to step up his game if he expected to outlast Cas. And it was only their first day alone! He breathed deeply as he poured the popcorn into a big plastic bowl. He could do this. He smiled a big grin, and walked back to the living room to wait on Cas. He didn’t have long to wait.

“What movie are we watching?” Cas asked, looking adorable in his pajamas.

“I was thinking Armageddon. End of the world, apocalypse kind of movie,” Dean said.

“Ah, the apocalypse. We don’t see enough of that in real life,” Cas said.

“Are you being a smartass?”

“Not at all. It will be interesting to see this from the view of humans. Who wins, the angels or the demons?” Cas asked.

“It’s not that kind of apocalypse, Cas. Just watch, you’ll like it.”

Cas and Dean settled into an old sofa to watch the movie. Dean silently applauded his movie choice. There was no way anyone could get romance in an apocalyptic movie. He could have a break from thinking of Cas in that way, and enjoy some manly, fire and destruction in a movie.

Soon after, Dean was kicking himself. How could he have forgotten the love story? Jesus, it was central to the movie. Had it really been that long since he’d seen it? He watched the movie in embarrassment as Liv Tyler had animal crackers run over her body by Ben Affleck. Dean chanced a look over at Cas, whose eyes were glued to the screen.

Dean thought this was his chance. He moved the popcorn bowl to the table and sat closer to Cas than before. Cas hardly noticed at all, he was so into the movie. Dean put his hand on Cas’ knee and leaned near his ear. Cas stiffened under his touch.

“You like that kind of thing?” Dean whispered, tongue licking and nipping at Cas’ ear. Cas gave a whispered yes, and brought his hand up to meet Dean’s face. He brought the hunter’s lips down to his own, giving a swift and gentle kiss. When they broke apart, Dean looked down at Cas, surprised by the fierceness in his expression.

Dean gave a small grunt in his throat and lunged at Cas.

“I win,” Cas said breathlessly.


	3. Chapter 3

Dean pushed Cas back onto the couch, and climbed on top of him. He didn’t hold anything back. He nipped at his ear, and kissed his way down his neck. He moved his hands up Cas’ arms and squeezed his shoulders. Dean kissed Cas again, deepening the kiss and grinding his hips against the angel’s, moaning into his mouth and threading his fingers through Cas’ messy hair. Cas reached up to hold onto Dean’s hips, and Dean suddenly stood up.

Cas looked up at him with confusion, lips plump and swollen from the kisses, and a definite bulge in his pants.

“Never mess with the king of teasing. You haven’t won yet,” Dean said, slightly out of breath and hot as hell for the gorgeous man sitting in front of him. Cas tilted his head to the side.

“Very good. You had me fooled. But what do I do about this?” Cas asked, motioning toward the tent in his khakis. 

“It goes away. Just think of something that isn’t sexy at all…unless you want to give up?” Dean asked.

“No. You won’t win this,” Cas said, as the ending credits rolled on the screen.

“I think I will. You keep yourself occupied, I claim the shower next,” Dean said, turning his back and walking to the bathroom, quite proud of himself.

He slipped out of his clothes, and climbed into the steaming shower. The hot water fell down his body and instantly put him at ease. Damn, he thought, Cas was going to be hard to ignore. The way his body had reacted to Dean’s touch, the look in his eyes when he had wanted Dean so badly. Dean felt himself harden at the thought of what he would do to Cas when he won the teasing war. He moved his hand onto his throbbing member and began to stroke it, imagining it was Cas’ hand instead.

He thought of Cas’ blue eyes closing tight when he had rolled his hips into him, and the delicious sounds he had made when Dean had been kissing his neck. Dean stroked faster, closing his eyes at the touch. He thought of Cas naked, moaning while he touched him. Maybe even moaning his name…

Dean gave a stifled moan as he came in the shower, shooting all over the tiles.

“Dean?” Cas called from the other side of the door.

He composed himself quickly, washing away the remnants of his shower experience.

“Yeah?” he yelled back.

“Can birds eat popcorn? I wanted to throw the leftovers out but I thought that made them explode.”

“Cas, that’s rice, not popcorn. That’s probably an urban legend anyway. It’s fine,” Dean said, rolling his eyes and grinning. 

He heard Cas walk back down the hall and open the door to the backyard. Smiling, he finished up his shower, and got ready for bed.

“Did the birds like the popcorn?” Dean asked a few minutes later, walking in to the living room at the same time as Cas.

“I believe so. You’re sure they will be okay?”

“Positive. I’m going to head to bed. See you in the morning.”

Dean yawned widely and started to walk to his room. He wasn’t used to going to bed this early, but he knew he needed to stay away from Cas right now, or he’d cave.

“Dean? Just a minute,” Cas said, walking to him.

Cas reached up and put his hand behind Dean’s head, then brought his lips up to meet Dean’s. He backed Dean up against the wall, kissing him deeply. Cas’ hands worked their way up Dean’s shirt, scratching his fingernails on the man’s muscular chest, feeling his ab muscles. Cas worked his hands downward, brushing Dean’s erection through his jeans. Dean groaned, arching his back into the touch.

Cas broke away, a smile playing on his lips.

“You forgot your goodnight kiss,” Cas said. 

“Yeah, thanks,” Dean said, turning his back and walking to his room.

He really needed some time alone after that experience. He got ready for bed, finally climbing in and getting comfortable. It didn’t take long before he fell asleep. 

“Dean,” he heard a voice say, far too early the next morning.

“Ugh, Cas, someone better be dying,” Dean said, rolling over to face him.

Cas was standing next to the bed, a look of happiness on his face. He was holding a tray with bacon and eggs, and some toast. There was a big glass of orange juice too. 

“Hungry?” Cas asked, beaming down at him.

“Yeah, actually. Damn, this was really nice of you. What time is it?” Dean asked, sitting up and taking the tray from Cas’ hands.

“Just after eight,” Cas answered, sitting down on the bed next to Dean. He pulled a health bar out of his pocket and opened it.

“That’s your breakfast? You’ve been around Sam too long,” Dean said. He took a bite of the breakfast, and was amazed it was good.

“How did you know how to cook this? No offense, Cas, but I’ve eaten your cooking before. And this is really good.”

“I got up over an hour ago and looked up a video of how to do it on YouTube,” Cas said.

“Well, it’s great. You want some?” Dean said, holding up his fork.

“No, I think I am okay with this. Sam said bacon kills you.”

“You’re an angel. I think you’ll be fine. Why are we awake so early?” Dean asked.

“I have a busy day planned for you,” Cas answered.

“So I win the war?” Dean asked.

“Not at all. I didn’t say anything about sex. Can’t I just surprise you?” Cas asked him.

“Yeah, of course. What do you have planned?”

“It’s a surprise,” Cas grinned widely.

After Dean got dressed, Cas placed his fingers on his forehead and transported them to a dingy parking lot at night. 

“Where are we?” Dean asked.

“Not so much of a where…come on,” Cas said, following a crowd of people into a large building. Dean could hear the voices of thousands of people humming in anticipation.

“Hold onto my jacket. We’re going invisible. I don’t have tickets,” Cas said.

Dean grabbed onto Cas, and felt a strange tickling sensation in his body. He walked past the guards, and no one noticed a thing.

Dean and Cas walked into a huge arena, packed with people talking loudly and excitedly. Suddenly, the lights dimmed and pyrotechnics started going off on stage. The roar of the crowd grew until Dean could hardly hear Cas next to him when he said, “I thought you might like to see them live.”

“Them? Them who?” Dean asked.

“Queen.”

“Queen? But Freddie Mercury is dead,” Dean said.

“Not in 1987 he wasn’t. Surprise, Dean.”

Dean stared around the room in amazement, taking in the sights and sounds, and feeling the pulsing beat of the music in his chest. 

“You brought me back in time, just so I could see Queen perform?” he asked loudly.

“Yes, I have to say, I’m quite partial to the man’s voice,” Cas answered back, yelling to be heard and standing on his tip toes to see the stage.

“Cas,” Dean said far too softly. He heard a familiar guitar riff to “Killer Queen” starting onstage, and knew he was about to yell himself hoarse.

*

“Did you enjoy the show?” Cas asked a few hours later, as they filed out of the arena.

“That was so freakin’ awesome! Did you hear his voice? And Brian on the guitar! Oh my God, that was _amazing_!” Dean was still pumped full of adrenaline.

Cas smiled to himself. 

“Our day isn’t over yet,” Cas said, putting two fingers on Dean’s head. The two were transported to a diner in the middle of the afternoon.

“Are we back in the right year? And where are we?” Dean asked.

“We’re back to our time. This is a little diner in Nevada. They have the best cherry pie in the entire world.”

Dean and Cas walked in and were sat at a table by a pretty and young waitress. 

“Hi there, my name is Annie. What can I get you today?” she asked, eyes lingering on Dean’s handsome features.

“Two slices of cherry pie, please,” Cas said, and she wrote it down. Dean beamed at Cas, who grinned back.

“You two are adorable. I’ll get that pie right out,” she said, walking back to the kitchen.

“You know me so well. How did you even know about this place?” Dean asked.

“My vessel used to come here when he was a child on vacation. He had family around here, and they’d always stop at this diner. Jimmy said it’s the best pie in the world, and I knew you’d want to try it.”

The waitress came back with two slabs of cherry pie. It looked fantastic. Cas and Dean thanked her, and dug in.

“Dear Lord,” Dean said, eyes closing at the flavor. “That is the best thing I have ever put in my mouth.”

Cas grinned.

“It is good, isn’t it?” he asked, and Dean caught his eye and nodded seriously. 

“You got a little something on your lip,” Dean said, motioning to Cas’ mouth. Cas stuck his tongue out and carefully licked the bit of cherry pie filling clean. Dean’s eyes widened. Damn, why was that a turn on?

“Cas…today has been the best day of my life. I don’t get very many good days, so I really mean that,” Dean said, reaching across the table to take his hand.

“You deserve all of your days to be the best. And this one isn’t over yet. As soon as we grab some cheeseburgers, I have one more surprise for you.”

Dean laughed.

“We ate pie before dinner? Oh man, Sam would have a heart attack right now.”

The two ordered some cheeseburgers and beers, and sat for a few hours, enjoying the peace. After finishing up, they paid their tab and walked back out into the late afternoon.

“One more surprise,” Cas said, reaching to touch Dean’s forehead.

“Cas, wait. This has all been perfect, but I feel like it’s too much.”

“Not at all. I’d give you everything if I could. This last surprise is my favorite,” Cas said. He looked so excited Dean couldn’t help but smile and nod.

Cas touched his fingers to Dean’s forehead, and transported them instantly. When Dean opened his eyes, he was standing in the woods at night.

“Are we still in the states?” Dean asked him.

“Yes, this is a forest in upstate New York. It’s already dark in the eastern United States right now, obviously. It’s miles away from anything, but it’s special. Just watch,” Cas said, sitting down on the cool ground and patting the space next to him. Dean took a seat, wondering what could happen in a forest that was so unusual.

He saw a quick flash of light, and his hand reflexively went to his side for his gun.

“Trust me. Nothing will hurt you. Just watch,” Cas said, putting his hand on Dean’s to lower it from the weapon.

Another small blink of light lit up in front of him. And then another. Within seconds, the entire forest came alive with small, blinking flashes of light. Realization dawned on Dean, and he looked at Cas.

“Fireflies?” he asked, and Cas nodded.

“This forest has an unusually large number of fireflies in the summer, but this area is very rural. No one knows about them but the locals. I know you used to go catch them in the summer when your mom was still alive. I thought you might like to see them,” Cas said, leaning his head against Dean’s shoulders.

Dean felt himself relax at this little gesture. He reached over and took Cas’ hand in his, and the two sat in content silence for a few minutes. Finally, Cas stretched and sat up, squeezing Dean’s hand. He smiled widely.

“I have enjoyed today,” Cas said, before reclining back onto the grass to watch the fireflies and stars.

Dean had too. The amount of thought Cas had put into this…it must have taken hours of planning. He had found one of Dean’s favorite bands, and researched a date and time for a concert. He had found the best cherry pie in the country. And he had allowed him to relive one of those rare, peaceful moments he’d had as a kid. All to make Dean happy. 

Dean turned to watch the peaceful angel gazing contentedly into the night sky. A strange feeling was rising in his chest, bubbling up inside him so strongly he knew he had to act, even though he wasn’t sure what the emotion was. Without planning it, without even thinking about it, Dean leaned down and kissed Cas softly on the lips. He turned his head so he could kiss him more freely, bringing his hand up to the man’s face to feel his skin. He couldn’t get enough Cas, of his thoughtfulness, soul, whatever it was. All he   
knew was that this was somehow all he had ever wanted.

They broke apart, and Dean gazed into Cas’ eyes. The looking was more intense than anything. 

“You are so perfect, Cas. I wish I could blink us to all kinds of places and do this for you. You deserve it all. But somehow, I will show you what all of this has meant to me. Let’s go back to the bunker. It’s time we call this teasing war off,” Dean said.

“You want to have sex?” Cas asked surprisingly.

How could that one word possibly explain the connection he wanted to make with Cas? There was no way to describe it.

“Yes, I do. Let’s go,” Dean said, heaving himself off the ground and offering his hand to help Cas up.

Cas placed two fingers on Dean’s head, and the two were transported back to Bobby's. It seemed oddly quiet without Bobby and Sam running around, but peaceful and sort of like home.

“Come on,” Dean said, pulling Cas by the hand to his room.

“Are you sure about this?” Cas asked as they walked up the stairs.

“Cas, you’ve given me an amazing day. The least I can do is give you one hell of a night,” Dean said, as they walked into his room and stood by the bed. “But I don’t want to make you do anything you’re uncomfortable with. So if you want to stop, let me know.”

Cas tilted his head with a smile on his face. He knew there was nothing that would make him want to stop. He closed the distance between them and pushed his lips onto Dean’s. Dean deepened the kiss, moving his hands up to the tie around Cas’ neck. He slowly undid it, letting it drop to the floor, and then began to work on his buttons. Cas fumbled with Dean’s shirt, and they paused in their kisses long enough for Dean to allow it to be pulled over his head.

Cas worked his hands down Dean’s torso, feeling the warmth and softness of the man’s skin. He began to unbutton his pants. Dean slid Cas’ shirt off his shoulders, and it fell to the ground. He gave a tug on the button of Cas’ pants, and it popped open at the same time as his own. He gave them a small tug and they fell to Cas’ ankles. Dean’s slid off soon after. Both men stepped out of their shoes and pants, tugging off their socks before falling into the bed in just their boxers. 

Dean had a moment of pause. He’d never done this with another man before. He sat back for a second, and Cas opened his eyes to see what was wrong. Dean looked down at Cas’ swollen lips and eyes heavy with lust. Screw it, he thought. He’d just have to learn along the way. He leaned in again, but this time peppered Cas’ neck with kisses, sucking and nibbling his way up his neck until he reached his ear. He slid his hand over Cas’ erection through his boxers, and Cas gave a small moan. Dean grinned. If he was this responsive already, this was going to be a fun evening.

He sat up and gave a tug to pull Cas’ boxers off. Leaning back down, Dean began to nibble on Cas’ collarbone, leaving small love bites. As he did, he worked his hand up and down Cas’ shaft, reveling in the sounds Cas was making. He knew he needed to do more, and sat back up. Dean gave Cas a short look, seeming to resolve himself. Then he leaned forward and took Cas in his mouth. Cas threw his head back against the pillows, moaning loudly. Dean worked his mouth the same way he enjoyed it done. He swirled his tongue around the tip before thrusting it to the back of his throat.

“Dean,” Cas grunted from above him. “Don’t stop.”

Dean picked up the pace. Swirl, deep throat, swirl. Cas was falling to pieces above him, writhing on the bed and thrusting his hips at each movement Dean made. He moaned loudly, clutching at the bed and clamping his eyes shut tightly.

“Dean, I think I’m going to-,” Cas began. 

Dean knew what was coming, and wanted to make it feel perfect for Cas. He took his hand and moved it to the base of Cas’ erection, giving a small squeeze as he continued the motions with his mouth. The pressure was all it took. Cas came, moaning Dean’s name loudly and thrusting hard into his mouth. Dean swallowed quickly. It definitely wasn’t his favorite flavor, but he’d do anything for Cas.

Cas came down from his orgasm, breathing heavily and panting slightly. Dean looked quite proud of himself. Cas wanted to make him feel as good as he did. Without pausing, without even attempting kissing or anything else, Cas pushed Dean down on the bed and took him in his mouth.

“Damn, Cas,” Dean said through gritted teeth. 

Cas worked his mouth up and down on Dean’s hard member, sucking until his cheeks hollowed. He used his fingernails to gently scratch the insides of Dean’s thighs. The sensation sent shivers up Dean’s spine. Cas picked up the speed, his head bouncing up and down. Dean groaned, threading his fingers through Cas’ hair. 

Cas hummed in his throat, causing an electric jolt to shoot through Dean. Then he sat up.

“I am willing to do more, if you are,” he said with a wrecked voice.

“Me too, but I’m not sure how to-,” Dean began, but Cas had already moved on top of him. He used the spit on Dean’s erection as lube, and positioned him at his entrance.

“Cas, I’ve never done this before, I may be awful,” Dean said in a worried voice.

“I doubt that. Nothing you could do would be awful. Do you want to do this?” Cas asked.

Dean nodded. He wanted to do this so badly.

“Won’t it hurt you?” Dean asked, and Cas gave a small laugh.

“Angel, remember?”

Cas leaned in and kissed Dean deeply. Then, holding onto Dean’s shoulders for support, he slowly lowered himself onto Dean. Dean grunted. He’d never felt anything like this before. Cas worked him in slowly, and Dean felt the tightness and heat surround him. Finally, he was all the way in. Slowly, Cas began to move up and down on Dean, moaning as his erection grew hard again.

Dean thrust slightly as Cas came back down, pushing him back up again. They soon settled into a steady pace, grunting and moaning at the feeling. Cas came down again, leaning back slightly.

“Ah!” he said loudly. “Right there!”

Dean began to move faster, hitting Cas in his sweet spot each time. The sounds Cas was making were pushing Dean to the edge. He pumped his hips even faster, enjoying the movement and hearing the effect he was having on Cas. He reached between them and grabbed Cas’ dick, pumping it to the rhythm of his thrusts. Cas yelled out his name, and came again. The sight of it put Dean past his limit. He came inside Cas, groaning his name and pumping hard.

The two collapsed on the bed, breathing heavily. Dean reached over and took Cas by the hand, giving it a small squeeze. Cas looked over at him and gave a wide smile.

“Why did we wait so long to do that?” Cas asked.

Dean heard his cell phone ringing next to the bed. He sighed and reached for it.

“Hey, Sam,” he said.

“Hey. We’re on our way back, it didn’t take as long as we expected. We should be there day after tomorrow. We’re going to stop by and see Rufus. Bobby thinks he may know something about the demons that could help us.”

“That sounds good. We’ll be here if you need anything done,” Dean said.

“Dude…why are you out of breath?”

“I was exercising,” Dean said, pulling the first excuse he could think of.

“You?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, man. ‘The body is a temple’ and all that crap.”

“Sure…so, I’m going to let you get back to Cas now, okay? See you in a few days. Call if you need anything,” Sam said before hanging up.

“Dammit.” 

“Are you ashamed of me, Dean?” Cas asked, leaning up on his elbows in the bed.

“No! Of course not. I just don’t want to let my brother know I’m banging an angel of the Lord,” Dean said, getting back in bed. 

Cas didn’t seem convinced.

“Look,” Dean said, putting his arm around the man and pulling him close. “I could never be ashamed of you. Never. Let’s get some sleep.”

Cas didn’t need sleep, but he lay his head against Dean’s chest, listening to the rhythmic pattern of his heart as he slowly fell asleep. When Cas was sure Dean had fallen asleep, he sat up to look at him. He examined every inch of his face; his freckled cheeks and nose, the curve of his lips, his hairline, even the small creases next to his eyes. He looked so peaceful. Cas realized his attraction was more than just physical. 

Somehow, over the years of hell on Earth and, well, just plain Hell, he had fallen in love with Dean Winchester.

*

Dean awoke early the next morning to find Cas still lying next to him. He looked over at the angel, who had a small smile playing around his lips.

“Sleep well?” Cas asked, and Dean nodded.

“I thought I’d go make us some breakfast,” Cas said, starting to get up.

“No, how about we go out? There’s a waffle place near here that’s really good. Besides,” Dean said, grabbing Cas’ hand. “I’d like to show you off.”

“Dean?” Cas asked suddenly, rolling over to look him in the eyes. “How do you feel about me?”

Dean stiffened. He wasn’t good with talking about things like this. Hell, he couldn’t even tell Lisa he’d loved her. He decided the best course of action was to ignore it.

“Damn, Cas, you know how I feel about you. Come on, let’s get some clothes on and head out.”

He climbed out of bed and lumbered to the bathroom, grabbing his clothes out of his bag on the way.

Cas was confused. Dean had said he knew how he felt. But he didn’t. Cas needed to hear what was going through the hunter’s mind. Unless…he didn’t feel the same as Cas. Maybe he didn’t love him, just like he didn’t love nearly all of the women he’d been with. Cas closed his eyes tight as he tried to block the image of Dean with all of those different women. The thought hurt him.

“Cas?” Dean asked, poking his head back through the door. “You coming? I’m starving.”

“Yes, Dean, be right there.”

Cas was quiet during the drive to the restaurant a few minutes later.

“Everything okay?” Dean asked, finally picking up on the silence as they sat down to eat.

“I don’t think so. Dean, do you know how I feel?” Cas asked him.

“Hungry?” Dean asked.

“No, emotionally. How I feel emotionally.”

Dammit, there were those emotions again. Dean decided he’d go with basic emotions. Those were easier than complicated ones, right?

“I don’t know, Cas, I’d say you’re sad right now.”

Cas sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Dean could be so clueless sometimes.

“I am more than just sad. I’m confused by you.”

“Confused? Why?” Dean asked.

“I know how I feel toward you. But I don’t understand how you think I would know how you feel.”

“Damn,” Dean said, running his hand over his face. “You should know my feelings about you. I’m so obvious about it!”

“You mean because we had sex?” Cas asked, and several diners turned to look in their direction. “You have had sex with lots of women, and felt nothing for them.”

“Keep your voice down!” Dean said, glancing around quickly.

“Are you ashamed of me?” Cas asked.

“I already told you no!” Dean said.

“Lover’s spat?” the waitress said, pouring more coffee into Dean’s mug.

“This is really none of your business, sweetheart,” Dean said forcefully.

“Ah. I think it is,” she said, eyes blacking out. Dean looked around the room and saw every set of eyes had blackened as well.

Dean sat back quickly against the seat, but Cas stood.

“Don’t think so, sweetie,” the demon said, flipping up the tablecloth to reveal an angel sigil. She slapped her hand to it and Cas was instantly pulled away.

“Nighty night,” she said to Dean, and everything went black.

*

“Ugh,” Dean groaned, trying to rub his battered skull. He couldn’t move his arms; he appeared to be tied up.

“Every damn time,” he said to himself.

Dean looked around the room. It was huge, covered in signs and sigils Dean could only assume were meant to hurt angels. He appeared to be in a warehouse, tied to a rigid wooden chair. He tugged his hands roughly again, but couldn’t move them. 

“Awesome,” he said.

“Well, look who’s up!” a voice said. Dean craned his head to the side to see the waitress walking toward him.

“Where are we? Where is Cas?” he asked.

“We sent him away. Can’t have him angel blasting us to bits again, can we?” 

“He’ll come after me. I know he will,” Dean said, trying to reassure himself.

“We’re counting on it.”

Dean realized this was a trap for Cas. And he was the bait.

“Don’t you dare hurt him. Don’t touch a hair on his head!” Dean growled.

The demon grinned maniacally as she walked to Dean. She leaned down right into his face.

“When we’re done, there won’t be any pieces larger than a hair anyway.”

Dean’s cell phone started ringing. The demon picked it up and answered.

“Hello, Sam,” she said, and Dean could hear his brother’s worried voice over the phone.

“Where do you have him?” Sam said angrily.

“Oh, now, where would the fun be in telling you that? I know you like to figure things out on your own,” the demon said.

“How do you know anything about me? Wait… _Meg_?” Sam asked.

“The one and only. Bye, now,” Meg said, before closing the phone.

“That was stupid. You should have just told him where I was if you’re so desperate for Cas.”

“Really? Then they’ll know it’s a trap. Better to let them find you through the GPS on your phone. Let them think they’re outsmarting us,” Meg said.

“It wouldn’t be hard to do,” Dean said.

“Cute. Get some rest. I assume seeing us tear your angel and brother to shreds will be taxing,” Meg said, before walking to the door and closing it behind her. “But don’t worry, you won’t have long to suffer. We’ll kill you after we make you watch them die.”

Finally, she had gone. Dean knew right away what he had to do. He closed his eyes, bowed his head, and started to pray to Cas.


	4. Chapter 4

“Cas, listen to me, don’t come. It’s a trick, they’re just using me for bait. This building is covered in angel sigils. Once you’re here, they said they’ll kill you and Sam and make me watch. Please, I’ve died before, but I can’t stand to watch you and Sam die when I can’t do anything about it. Stay away, both of you. I’ll figure out some way out of here,” Dean whispered.

He opened his eyes and allowed them to adjust to the dark room. Shit. He was screwed. How long would Meg and her cronies wait to kill him if Cas didn’t show? Could he take that many? He carefully rubbed one ankle against the other, feeling the cold metal of a demon blade against his calf. So they hadn’t checked everywhere. Maybe there was still hope.

Dean began to work his fingers against the ropes binding him. It took several minutes, but he finally loosened the ropes enough to try to pull his hands through. At that exact moment, a terrible scream rang out through the empty hallways, and a blasting white light appeared. Meg ran into the room and closed the door, bolting it behind her.

“It appears they found us,” she said triumphantly. “Now, all we need to do is get them in here.”

Meg advanced on Dean, pulling out a sharp knife from her waistband. She placed the blade on Dean’s shoulder, pushing down slightly. Then, without warning, she pulled the razor sharp blade toward herself, cutting Dean deep.

Dean yelled in pain. Meg grinned, and moved on to his other shoulder. She repeated the process there, drawing another pained cry from Dean. A loud banging pulled Dean back down to Earth. It sounded like Cas and Sam were trying to open the door.

“No!” Dean yelled, as Cas managed to blast open the door and walk inside. He immediately dropped to the ground. Dean pulled fiercely against his bindings as Meg raised her hand and pinned Sam to the wall with her power.

“Well, hello Clarence,” she said, looking down at the angel in the floor beside her, as she took his angel blade. “I see you managed to kill all my guards. No matter, they were there just for looks. You needed to think Dean was in serious danger. But you know, he actually is.”

Meg walked back over to Dean slowly. She turned and looked Cas directly in the eyes, and plunged the blade deep into Dean’s leg. Dean screamed in pain. She pulled out the blade and wiped it on her jeans.

“I’m going to kill him,” she said, smiling to Cas. “But I want to make him watch you die first. Then poor little Sammy.”

She turned her back on Dean, focusing all her attention on making Cas suffer.

“I’m going to cut you to pieces. Then chop up all of Sam, starting with his ridiculous hair. After that, I go for Dean. What do you think I should do to him?” Meg said. Dean could see Cas on the ground, a look of pure fear and anger sketched on his face.

“I mean, he’s suffered so much already,” Meg continued, as Dean worked against his bonds. “His mommy and daddy died, Sammy goes all dark side, and you, Cas. You come into his life and give him something to live for. And I tear it all away.”

Dean felt the ropes finally loosen, and he slipped both hands out, holding onto the rope to avoid any sound of it dropping to the floor. He reached down into his ankle holster for his demon knife silently.

“Enough talk. Time to get rid of you, Cas. Let this be a lesson for anyone who tries to stop Lucifer.”

Meg leaned to stab Cas with the angel blade, hurling the weapon down into his shoulder. Dean quickly stabbed his demon knife into her back, and Meg went rigid. She lit up with an evil orange glow, flickering violently, until she finally shuddered and stilled, collapsing on the ground. As she did, Sam fell to the floor.

“Cas!” Dean yelled, running to his side. The angel was clutching his shoulder.

“We have to get him out of this room. The sigils are too strong,” Sam said, lifting Cas gingerly into his arms and hurrying out the door.

“Cas, come on now,” Dean said as they finally made it to the hall. “Come on, you can do it. Let’s get out of here, get to the bunker. Bobby will know what to do.”

Cas raised his arms slowly, wincing at the pain, and touched the boys’ foreheads. They were instantly in Bobby’s living room. Dean looked down at Cas and saw he was unconscious, a bright light emitting from the stab wound on his shoulder.

“Bobby!” Dean yelled. No answer.

“He must be outside. Get him comfortable, Dean, I’ll get Bobby,” Sam said, putting Cas down on the couch and running out of the room.

“Open your eyes, Cas, please. I know you can hear me. You’re going to be just fine, I promise,” Dean said. He pulled the tattered remains of the cloth off of Cas’ wounds. He didn’t know what to put on it. Surely no human medicine could heal an angel.

Dean put his hands gently on Cas’ cheeks, and leaned in to give him a small kiss. He heard the sound of running as Bobby and Sam came back into the house.

“What hurt him?” Bobby asked, clutching a stitch in his side and panting.

“An angel blade. It just punctured his shoulder, not his chest. He’ll be okay, right?” Dean said anxiously.

Sam and Bobby exchanged looks.

“Yeah, son. He’ll be fine. We just need to let him rest,” Bobby said. “How about a beer? You’ve been through one hell of a day.”

“I’ll help,” Sam said, walking behind Bobby to the kitchen. 

Dean wasn’t stupid. He knew something was wrong. He pressed his ear to the door once the two had left, listening to their conversation.

“…just don’t know, Sam. Angel blades kill angels, there’s no way around that,” Bobby was saying.

“Even if he didn’t get stabbed in the chest?” Sam asked.

“I have no idea. We’ll just have to see how this plays out. Just whatever you do-”

“Don’t tell Dean,” Sam finished. “Yeah, I know.”

Dean heard their footsteps come closer again, and he rushed back to the chair next to Cas. This couldn’t happen. He couldn’t find something so good in his life, finally, to lose it. He grabbed onto Cas’ hand, staring at his pale face. He had to do something.

“Beer?” Bobby asked as he and Sam came back into the room.

“Yeah, thanks,” Dean said, taking it without hardly noticing what he was doing. He took a small drink and sat it on the table.

“He’s still out,” Sam said, coming around to check on Cas himself.

“I think he used the last of his mojo to get us here. He wanted us to be safe. Dammit, Sam, why the hell did you come? I prayed to Cas! I told him it was a trap!” Dean shouted.

“I know, man, I do. As soon as Cas was taken out with those sigils at the diner, he came to me. He heard you pray and told me it was a trap. I said he needed to just let me take care of it, but he wouldn’t let it go. He refused to let me do it alone. He swore they would kill you right away if they knew he’d stayed away.”

“So he ran in, knowing he wouldn’t make it?” Dean asked.

“Love makes you do all kinds of crazy things,” Bobby said quietly from his chair. “Cas knew you were dead if he stayed away. He knew he was might die if he came to save you. But I don’t think there was ever a second of doubt in his mind about what he should do.”

Dean closed his eyes tightly at the thought of what Cas had been willing to do to save his life. His mortal, short life.

“It’s getting late,” Sam said, noticing the pain in Dean’s expression. He knew his brother well enough to know when he wanted to be alone. “I think I’ll go to bed.”

“I’ll be in the study. I’m going to see what I can dig up on angel wounds,” Bobby said.

They left Dean alone with Cas. Dean held onto Cas’ hand and sang the first song that came into his mind.

_“Hey Jude, don’t make it bad…”_

He sniffed slightly, leaning closer.

_“Take a sad song and make it better…”_

Cas didn’t move, the bright light still emitting from his shoulder.

“Cas, please, please wake up. You just don’t know how much I care about you, man. I’m sorry we had that stupid fight. I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m just not good with expressing myself. I never have been,” Dean said.

He leaned over Cas, putting his hand over the angel’s gash, muffling the white light.

“I love you,” he whispered into Cas’ ear, then lay his head on the man’s chest, angrily wiping away the tears that fell even though he fought them.

Suddenly, he felt warmth beneath his hand. He moved his hand and looked up to Cas’ injury, surprised to see it was healing quickly. Within seconds, it had covered over with skin, and it looked like nothing had ever happened. Cas stirred slightly.

“Cas?” Dean asked slowly, squeezing his hand and brushing his hair off his forehead.

Cas opened his eyes, looking confused.

“Dean?” he asked. He sat up quickly. “Where are we? Are you safe?”

“Lay back down. You need to rest. We’re fine, thanks to you,” Dean smiled, gently pushing Cas back down on the couch.

Bobby walked back into the room, dropping the book he was holding when he saw Cas was awake.

“You did it,” Bobby said, as Dean came over to him.

“Did what?” he asked, confused.

“I know how you healed Cas. An angel wound can only be cured by one thing other than God,” Bobby said quietly.

“What? I didn’t do anything,” Dean said.

“Damn, boy, don’t make me have a chick flick moment. Alright…angel wounds can only be healed by a true profession of love.”

Dean’s face went red, but he found he didn’t mind. After all, Cas was safe. Bobby cleared his throat.

“I’m just going to go let Sam know Cas is fine,” he said, picking up his dropped book and leaving the room.

Dean walked back to Cas. 

“Did you happen to hear anything I said?” he asked.

“No, I am sorry, Dean. I was unconscious.”

Dean sat down on the table next to Cas’ couch.

“You didn’t have to come-,” Dean began.

“Of course I did-,”

“But I’m damn glad you did,” Dean said, smiling at Cas.

“You’re not upset?” Cas asked.

“No! I mean, I was worried. I thought you were going to die because of me, and I couldn’t have lived with myself.”

“But I didn’t die. And I should have. I remember Meg stabbing me with my angel blade.”

“She did. You had this white light coming out of your shoulder-,” Dean said.

“My grace was leaking out? How did I survive? Dean, tell me you didn’t make a deal!” Cas said loudly.

“No, nothing like that. I put my hand on it and I-I told you something. And it healed.”

A look of dawning comprehension passed over Cas’ face.

“What did you say?” he asked Dean.

“The truth. Cas…I love you. And that doesn’t even explain my feelings for you. I should have told you earlier, but I just couldn’t. Seeing you like that, it made me realize how much I need you, and how stupid I was to not tell you before. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. I love you too. I have since I pulled you from Hell. I just didn’t know it,” Cas said. 

Dean smiled and leaned down to kiss Cas again. Their lips met, and Dean felt a spark unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life. So this was what real love felt like. Dean pulled away to look at the man sprawled on the couch in front of him. The moment of happiness was broken by an intrusive thought of Dean’s.

“I can’t let you fight this war alone, Cas. I can’t stay here not knowing what is happening with you,” he said.

“And I can’t fight with you there. We are nearing our final attack on Lucifer. I will be leading an attack into Hell, to force Lucifer back into his cage and end this war. Once he’s back inside his cage, it goes back to the basic good versus evil fight it has always been on Earth. Then I am free to make my choice,” Cas said.

“What kind of choice?” Dean asked.

“It is not something you need to be worried with yet. The siege must be completed first. Once I return, then I make my decision.”

“When does the siege start?” Dean asked.

“On my command, whenever I choose that to be.”

“Cas,” Dean said, sitting up straighter. “You know damn well I won’t let you do this alone. So you can drop the secretive war strategies, and tell me what is going to happen. Because I’m going to be there, one way or another.”

Cas tilted his head to the side, considering Dean.

“Very well. We will leave soon, and enter Hell. Once inside, we fight the wall of demons that are sure to attack us. While my army fights, I go and take on Lucifer, and subdue him long enough to get him in his cage,” Cas said, before noticing Dean’s look of concern. “It has to be me, Dean. I am the only one strong enough now that Gabriel is dead and Michael would cause the apocalypse.”

Dean knew it to be the truth. It hurt him to imagine how difficult this was going to be.

“I’m coming with you.”

“I assume so, as you are stubborn. But I refuse to let you fight Lucifer with me. You are a mortal; he will kill you easily. You will only fight the demons.”

“Fine. And Cas?” he asked, and Cas tilted his head. “We go without Sammy. We won’t tell him we’re leaving. He would get hurt, or worse, and I can’t let that happen. When do you want to go?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“That’s not much time to plan,” Dean said, frowning.

“We have been planning this for months. I will need to let the angels know of the siege. I will be back soon,” Cas said, disappearing with the sound of fluttering wings.

Dean sat back, rubbing his hands against his eyes. Nothing in his life could be simple, could it? He finally falls in love, and admits it, and has to go to Hell to fight Satan himself. Awesome.

“Hey, where did Cas go?” Sam asked, gingerly stepping into the room.

“He needed to do an angel errand,” Dean said.

“So are you two…I mean, what exactly are you and Cas?” Sam asked.

That raised an interesting question. What did this make Cas and Dean? Boyfriends? That sounded stupid, Dean thought. Lovers? No, life isn’t a bad romance novel. A mortal in love with his guardian angel? Too much to say. Nothing seemed to be right, to convey the bond they had or the love and trust between them.

Dean turned to face his brother.

“Happy, Sam. We’re happy.”

*

Dean sat at the table in the dining room late that evening, nursing a beer and checking his watch every few minutes. Where the hell was Cas? He wouldn’t leave him like this and run off to fight the battle, right?

Sam walked by the door, and poked his head in.

“I’m going to bed. For real this time,” he said.

Dean just nodded.

“Is everything okay?” Sam asked, coming into the room.

“Yeah, Sammy,” Dean said, knowing the danger he would be in the next morning and not wanting to worry Sam.

“If you’re sure,” Sam said, backing away. “But Dean, don’t do anything stupid. I know you, you’re planning something.”

“Ah hell, Sam, I’m not planning anything.”

“Yeah, sure. I believe you,” Sam said, walking back out of the room. “Just know you aren’t alone. You’ve got me, and Cas too.”

“Thanks, man. ‘Night,” Dean said.

“No problem. See you in the morning.”

Dean stiffened as his brother walked out of the room. He didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but at least Sam would be safe.

A fluttering of wings announced Cas’ arrival.

“I was starting to get worried you were going without me,” Dean said with a small attempt at a smile.

“I would prefer to, but since you will find your way in somehow, it seemed futile to try to leave you. You are much safer coming in with me than tumbling into a battle on your own.”

“What are the odds of this going in our favor?” Dean asked.

“About as good as our odds ever are,” Cas said.

Dean nodded grimly. That wasn’t a good sign. He decided the best thing to do was distract himself.

“Well, we might die tomorrow,” Dean said, standing up to stretch and wrap Cas in his arms. “I know how I’d like to spend my last hours.”

He kissed Cas gently on the mouth, reveling in the feeling of being so close to the angel he loved. Cas pulled him closer, and Dean grinned against his mouth. He enjoyed Cas holding him like this. Cas turned his head to deepen the kiss, and Dean realized where this would be heading. Dean smoothed his hands up Cas’ arms before slipping them under the trench coat. He pushed it back off Cas’ shoulders, and Cas shrugged out of it, letting it fall.

Dean and Cas fumbled with each other’s clothes, stripping down naked in record time. Dean pulled Cas close to feel the warmth of his body. He planted kisses up and down the angel’s neck, nibbling his way across his collarbone. Cas gave a small gasp and scratched his fingernails down Dean’s back, squeezing his ass slightly. Dean grunted and picked Cas up. Cas wrapped his legs around Dean’s waist, their erections rubbing against each other.

Dean walked forward and lay Cas down on the kitchen table. Cas tensed slightly at the cold feeling on his back, but relaxed when Dean began kissing his way down his body. He swirled his tongue over each one of Cas’ nipples, making the man groan and close his eyes. Dean smiled at his reaction, continuing the agonizingly slow march down Cas’ torso. He reached Cas’ hard cock at last, but kissed around it, biting and nibbling as he went. Cas started writhing underneath of Dean.

“Oh, please,” he gasped, thrusting into air.

“What do you want?” Dean asked playfully, licking a quick stripe up Cas’ dick.

“Your mouth,” Cas said.

Dean immediately swallowed Cas up, willing himself not to gag as he took the angel in his mouth. Cas gasped loudly and thrust into Dean’s mouth. Dean began to move, pinning Cas’ hips down as he slid his mouth up and down, baring his teeth at the top. Cas was making deliciously erotic sounds, and they were making Dean hard as hell. Suddenly, Cas sat up, grabbed onto Dean’s shoulders, and forced him down on the table instead. 

Positioning himself between Dean’s legs, he began to work his hand over Dean’s rock hard dick, sliding it up and down at a furious pace. Dean’s eyes rolled back, and he realized how turned on he was by Cas’ show of dominance. 

“Cas, baby,” Dean moaned. Cas grunted in response, and leaned forward to put his mouth over the tip of Dean’s cock. 

He sucked hard as he worked his hand, his tongue flicking over the tip. Dean was dizzy from the pleasure. He moaned, raking his fingers through Cas’ hair, and wanting more.

“I can give you more, if that’s what you want,” Cas said, coming off of Dean’s dick with a small pop.

Dean nodded. He wanted it so badly.

“I won’t hurt you. You just have to trust me.”

“I do,” Dean said honestly, and Cas smiled.

Cas put a finger in his mouth and began to suck, getting it wet. Dean watched in a daze. Cas moved the finger out of his mouth and pressed it against Dean’s entrance.

 _Oh, fuck_ , Dean thought. _I’m going to be a bottom. And it’s sexy as hell._

Cas pushed his finger in and Dean moaned in pleasure at the sudden intrusion. 

“Is that okay?” Cas asked, but Dean simply groaned in response. 

Cas added another finger, scissoring the opening wider. He grabbed Dean’s cock in his hand as well. He pumped his fingers into Dean, mirroring his movements on Dean’s dick.  
Dean writhed and moaned under Cas.

“More,” he begged.

Cas pulled his fingers out and positioned himself at Dean’s entrance. Slowly, making sure he wasn’t hurting him, Cas eased into Dean. Dean grunted his approval, and Cas continued to push in until he was fully sheathed in Dean.

Dean couldn’t believe how good it felt to be this utterly full of Cas. He locked eyes with the man, practically begging him to move. Cas gave a half-smile, and moved back before slamming into Dean again. The action sent a pulse of heat through Dean’s dick. He moaned loudly.

“Don’t stop,” Dean said.

Cas couldn’t hold back anymore. He began to thrust rapidly into Dean, who grasped onto the table with his bottom lip held tightly between his teeth. Cas gave one hard thrust and hit something deep inside of Dean. Dean’s eyes widened and he gasped loudly. 

Cas pumped into Dean faster, hitting his sweet spot over and over.

“Cas, please…I’m going to come,” Dean said, and Cas could feel his muscles tightening.

Cas reached up and grasped Dean’s cock, moving up and down in time to the rhythm of his thrusting. 

“Ah!” Dean yelled as he came, shooting hot white liquid all over his stomach.

The sight of Dean losing control pushed Cas past his limit.

“Dean!” Cas moaned, as he came inside of the hunter. 

The two rode out their orgasms together, coming down from the high to look into each other’s eyes. 

“Damn, Cas, I never thought I’d like being on the bottom. We need to do that again sometime,” Dean said breathlessly, sitting up on the edge of the table.

“Anytime you want,” Cas said, leaning over to give Dean a kiss.

“What the _hell_?” a voice said from the doorway. 

Dean and Cas looked up to see a very confused, and more than slightly grossed out, Bobby standing in horror before them.

“Shit,” Dean said, ducking behind a chair to hide his naked body. He threw Cas’ trench coat at him to cover up.

“Dammit, boys, I eat at that table!” Bobby said, turning his back on the scene.

“We’re so sorry-,” Dean began.

“Save it, just-just go to my closet and get some bleach...for the table and my brain. Scrub that table clean. And if you want to go at it again, use a bed.”

Bobby stomped off, mumbling about walking in on people having sex “in his own damn house”.

“Maybe next time you should angel-poof us somewhere,” Dean said. “Come on, let’s try to get some sleep. Busy day tomorrow, and all that.”

He threw on his boxers and Cas did the same. Dean dutifully scrubbed the table down with bleach, a slight flush in his cheeks from embarrassment. Then Dean held Cas’ hand and led him upstairs to his room. Exhausted, Dean collapsed in the bed, and Cas lay down next to him. It was quiet in the dark room for several minutes before Cas finally spoke.

“Are you still awake?” Cas asked Dean.

“Yeah,” Dean’s gruff voice sounded in the darkness.

“Everything will be fine, Dean,” Cas squeezed Dean’s hand.

“I know.”

“How so?” Cas asked.

“Because I’ll be there. And I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Cas smiled.

“Goodnight, Dean. I love you.”

“’Night, Cas. Love you too,” Dean said, and soon he was snoring.

Cas didn’t need sleep, so he stayed awake, watching Dean breathe deeply and finally relax. Cas stayed next to Dean the entire night, knowing Dean was a mortal, but feeling safer just the same.

*

“Dean? Dean, wake up,” Cas said early the next morning.

“Damn, what time is it?” Dean asked groggily, rolling over and wiping drool from his chin.

“Five. We need to leave soon,” Cas said. He had already dressed and was standing at the foot of the bed. 

“Yeah, I’m coming,” Dean said, climbing out of the bed.

“I will go make some coffee and breakfast,” Cas said, leaving the room.

Dean dressed quickly, adrenaline pumping in his veins. He was about to fight with an army of angels against an army of demons. He shook his head. Damn, his life was messed up. He grabbed his jacket and headed out the bedroom door, walking quietly to avoid waking anyone else in the house.

A muffled snore echoed out of Sam’s room, and Dean paused. He crept in slowly, stopping next to his baby brother’s bed. Sam was passed out, one arm thrown out to the side, while the other rested on his stomach. Dean gave a half smile. Sam looked so peaceful. He saw some paper and a pen on Sam’s desk. Working quickly, he wrote out a note. He folded it in half and set it on the table before turning back to Sam. Reaching down, Dean gently pushed the hair back out of Sam’s face. Sam stirred but didn’t wake up. Dean carefully left the room and headed down to breakfast.

The smell of coffee and bacon was overwhelming.

“Damn, Cas, when did you become Betty Crocker?” Dean asked.

“I do not understand that reference,” Cas said, tilting his head.

“It doesn’t matter. Thanks for the breakfast,” Dean said.

He and Cas ate in the quiet of the kitchen quickly. Dean could tell Cas was anxious to head out.

“You ready for this?” Dean asked, standing.

“Yes. It is time to end this,” Cas said. He placed one hand on Dean’s shoulder, and they were transported to an empty field.

“This is it? This is the entrance to Hell?” Dean asked. “And where is everyone?” 

Before the sentence had even left his mouth, the field was full of people. Dean realized they must be angels. They congregated around Cas like a beacon.

“Brothers and sisters, today we fight to finally put Lucifer back in his cage. Then the war will be over at last,” Cas said, emitting a glow as he spoke. “You know your orders. Come, we must end this.”

Cas came to Dean quickly.

“I must lead them. You do as we discussed, but do not throw yourself in more danger than you need to. Fight with the angels against the demons, and I will fight Lucifer. And Dean,” Cas said, grasping his hand. “Be careful.”

“You too,” Dean called, as Cas walked off to lead the march.

“He’s certainly a commanding force, isn’t he?” a redheaded woman said to Dean’s left as the crowd began to surge after Cas.

“In more ways than one,” Dean said. “I’m-”

“Dean Winchester. I know who you are, of course. My name is Anna. Come on, we don’t want to get left behind.”

She and Dean walked with the crowd toward a large tree. One by one, the angels touched the tree and disappeared. Anna noticed Dean’s apprehension.

“It’s a simple vanishing mechanism. Think of it as the portkeys in Harry Potter,” Anna said with a smile.

“You’re pretty up to date for an angel, you know,” Dean said.

“I have spent a good deal of my time on Earth. And what can I say, I like to read,” she said.

She and Dean reached the tree and put their hands on it together. Dean felt a strange buzzing sensation, and when he opened his eyes, he was in a dark, hot, and very terrifying cave. Screams echoed up and down the halls, and Dean could see cell doors holding victims in. They were screaming terrible things, moaning in pain and desperation. Judging by their appearance, Dean assumed they had been in this place for a long time.

“Help, please,” a voice called from his left. Dean looked in the cell to see a thin woman in tattered clothing, hair matted and clumped with mud. The cell was too small to stand all the way up in, but not long enough to lay down flat in, leaving the woman permanently stooped over.

“It has been two hundred years. Please, let me out, I never knew this would be my life when I sold my soul. Please,” she begged, and Dean reached out to touch the hand she stuck between the bars. 

Anna grabbed him away at the last second.

“Why did you do that? That poor woman, she’s been here for years,” Dean said angrily.

“No she hasn’t. It’s a trick, Dean. She’s a demon,” Anna said. 

Dean looked back at the woman, who gave an angry howl, eyes turning black.

“She would have torn you apart if you had tried to let her out. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you in here, or you won’t survive this battle.”

Anna and Dean continued following the mass of angels until they reached the other side of the cave. The scenery opened up into a large, dead field. The grass was parched, brown and dead, and the tree branches on the outskirts of the field leaned leafless and empty toward the ground. 

Dean realized with a sudden jolt that the field was silent. There was never silence in Hell.

A sudden shriek ripped across the empty field. Dean drew his demon knife from his side, preparing for the onslaught. He and the angels held their breath, waiting and looking. And then it happened. 

Demons. Hundreds of them. They poured into the field from the forest, snarling and slashing at every angel they could reach with their angel blades.

“Where the hell did they get those? Come on, just smite them all!” Dean said to Anna.

“It seems Lucifer copied his own angel blade to give to them. And we can’t just smite them, we don’t have the power. We are cut off from much of Heaven’s power in Hell,” Anna yelled, as the horde of demons reached them. 

Dean cut and stabbed anything he could. From behind him, he heard Anna give a strangled yell. He turned, stabbing the demon in the back who had tried to kill her.  
Standing, he saw Cas slipping into the edge of the woods, headed for his personal battle.

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” he said, stabbing another demon as he ran to the edge of the woods to follow Cas.

He knew he had told Cas he would stay away from the fight, but there was no way in Hell he was going to stand by and do nothing with Cas in that much danger.


	5. Chapter 5

Dean crept through the forest as silently as he could, trying to avoid being seen by Cas. His foot snapped a small twig in two, and Dean held his breath, hoping Cas didn’t notice. He hadn’t, and continued along on to his destination. Dean sighed in relief.

He continued to follow Cas until a sudden blow from behind took him by surprise. Dean turned to see the thin woman he’d seen when he first arrived in Hell. She was still stooped over, as though her body was unused to being out of her cell. She slashed her knife at Dean, growling in her throat.

“This is the thanks I get for taking pity on you?” Dean said, blocking her blows. 

“Fine,” he said, thrusting his demon knife into her chest, causing her to flicker. “Lesson learned.”

He pulled the knife out and the demon collapsed onto the ground, dead. Dean looked around; he had lost Cas. 

“Dammit,” he said under his breath. A sudden shout rang out in the woods in the opposite direction of the battle.

“Cas!” Dean yelled, sprinting toward the sound. As he came closer, the heat increased around him, causing him to sweat. The forest became more sparse, until it was just a few trees growing in sandy dirt. Finally, Dean saw Cas, fighting against Lucifer. 

Dean crept around behind Lucifer, staying out of sight of Cas as well. He heard a thump and looked around a tree to see Cas on the ground, his angel blade laying feet away from him.

“Castiel, my brother, why not join my cause instead of dying here? Humans, they are scum. Blight on the Earth. Once they are gone, we can all be happy again,” Lucifer said, twirling his angel blade in his hands.

“No,” Cas said, and Dean was frightened by how weak he sounded. “They are not all the same. Some are evil, yes, but humans are not the only creatures who have both good and evil members.”

Lucifer looked over Cas appraisingly.

“You have fallen in love with one,” he said, before laughing loudly. “Castiel! Angel of the Lord! In love with a parasite on our Father’s creation!”

“He is a good human,” Cas said, strengthening at the mention of his love for Dean. “I have never met another creature, human or angel, like him.”

“Imagine how upset he will be, then, when you do not return from this battle,” Lucifer said, raising his arm to stab Cas with the angel blade. 

Dean couldn’t let him do it, but didn’t have time to run in to save him. He screwed up every last bit of strength he had and threw his demon blade at Lucifer, hitting him in the middle of his back. Lucifer flickered briefly, but didn’t die. Instead, he reached back and pulled the blade out of his back, turning to see who threw it. 

_Shit_ , Dean thought. _That didn’t go as planned at all._

“Ah yes, Dean Winchester. So good to see you. I suppose you are the one Castiel is in love with?” Lucifer asked.

“Damn straight,” Dean answered.

“I don’t know if _straight_ is the word I would use,” Lucifer said with a smirk, and Dean clenched his fists tightly. “But it doesn’t matter. Castiel gets to watch you die.”

“You’ll have to get through me first, Lucifer,” a voice said from behind another tree. Dean watched Anna step out and place herself between him and Lucifer.

“Oh, Anna, you know I can squash you like a bug. It was stupid to follow,” Lucifer said.

He raised his hand, and Anna was thrown sideways, crashing into a tree with a horrendous force.

“Anna!” Dean yelled, running to her unconscious body.

“You should have known you couldn’t stop me, Dean,” Lucifer said. He raised his hand again and Dean winced.

“Yes, I’m afraid that falls entirely on me,” Cas said from behind Lucifer.

Without hesitation, Cas plunged his angel blade into his brother, who shuddered violently. He collapsed to the ground, weak but not dead. Cas muttered some words in Enochian, and a large cage appeared behind him. He mustered some strength and heaved Lucifer in, slamming the gate behind him. Panting and barely conscious, Cas stumbled toward Dean and Anna.

“Anna?” Cas asked, and she began to stir. She opened her eyes and looked around.

“You did it, Cas. It’s over,” she said breathlessly.

“Not quite. We need to get back to the clearing and have everyone leave. Come,” Cas said, helping Anna to her feet. She stumbled and nearly fell over.

“I think I’m hurt pretty badly,” she said. Cas tried to have her lean on him, but he was barely able to walk himself.

“I’ve got her, Cas. You focus on taking care of yourself,” Dean said, helping Anna walk forward.

“Thank you,” Anna said, squeezing Dean’s shoulder gently as they made their way back to the battle.

“You saved my life. I think I can help you get out of Hell,” Dean said, and Anna gave a small laugh. “All the same, I would feel better if you came back to our place when we get out of here. I want to make sure you heal.”

“I’m an angel, Dean, I will heal with time.”

“Humor me. I need to see it with my own eyes,” Dean said, and Anna nodded.

Soon, they had reached the field, where a vision of absolute slaughter met their eyes. Both sides had taken considerable losses. Cas winced, but muttered some Enochian before whispering to Dean.

“Cover your ears,” he said, and Dean did.

Cas let out the same sound Dean had heard when he had tried to speak to him as an angel for the first time. A piercing, glass shattering ringing sound rang through the field, and one by one, the angels began to disappear.

“What’s going on?” Dean asked, but Cas simply placed his hands on Dean and Anna. 

They appeared back at Bobby’s, in the living room. Cas collapsed on the couch, and Dean sat Anna next to him carefully.

“What the hell was that?” he asked.

“I think you call it angel-poofing,” Cas said, with an attempt at a smile. “All of the angels possessed just enough Grace to transport themselves out of Hell. They will need recovery time, but everyone who was still alive made it out. I can feel it.”

Anna groaned and laid her head back against the cushions. Cas grunted as he examined the multitude of cuts and gashes on his body.

“So heal yourselves!” Dean said, hating to see both of them in so much pain.

“We can’t. At least, not until our Grace charges back up. It took everything to get us out,” Cas said.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you. Let me get you something to drink,” Dean said.

He expected Cas or Anna to point out the obvious fact that they didn’t need to drink, but Cas simply nodded.

“I think some human healing remedies may work, since we’re so close to being human at the moment,” he said.

Dean turned to go to the kitchen. He had opened the cabinets for some glasses when he heard the door thumping open.

“Dean!” Sam said, wrapping him up in a hug.

“Hey, Sammy, everything okay?” he asked.

“Are you serious right now? You’ve been gone for two days! All I had was this note!” Sam said, opening it and reading it aloud. “Gone to Hell to save the world with Cas. Be back soon.”

“Two days? The fight only took a few hours,” Dean said, confused.

“Dammit, Dean, I don’t care how long the fight was! You ran off to Hell to fight in an angel and demon battle and didn’t think to tell me? I was freaking out! You could have been killed!” Sam said.

“You can be mad all you want to, Sam, I’m just happy as hell to see you,” he said, thumping his brother on the back. “Now look, help me get some ice water and soup made. I’ve got two very sick angels in the living room that we’re going to be healing up.”

“Two angels? Why can’t they heal themselves? And how is human treatment going to fix anything?” Sam asked.

“Long story, but basically their angel mojo is on recharge mode, so they’re like humans now. Human remedies for human angels. Cas thinks it may work,” Dean said.

Sam nodded his head and set to work making everything with Dean. He still wasn’t happy about Dean leaving him behind, but he understood why it would have been dangerous to go. Lucifer could have taken him as a vessel and started the apocalypse. Dean had just been trying to save Sam…and the world.

Soon, Dean and Sam carried the soup and water to the angels. They walked in the room, and Anna sat up slightly. Sam froze in place.

“Oh, hello, you must be Sam,” Anna said weakly, smiling at him.

“Yeah…yeah, I am,” Sam said, a little flustered. He managed to hand her a drink and bowl of soup, which she tasted immediately.

“You’re quite the chef,” she said.

“Thank you,” he said.

Dean watched the scene unfold as he gave Cas his soup and water. He smiled to himself. Maybe he wasn’t the only brother with a thing for angels.

“That is actually quite good,” Cas said, slurping some of the canned tomato soup.

“I wish I could take credit, but it came from a can,” Dean said. “Where’s Bobby?”

“Gone to the store,” Sam said.

“Damn, let me give him a call. We could use some stuff,” Dean said, and picked up his phone. He dialed the number and Bobby picked up right away.

“Hey, Bobby, could you-,” Dean began, but Bobby yelled so loudly everyone in the room heard it.

“Where the _hell_ have you been? Did you know how worried I was? Did either of you _asshats_ think to let me know you were running off to do battle? Dammit, Dean! You’re lucky I’m not home right now or I’d _skin you alive!_ ”

“We’re fine, Bobby. But we do need some things from the store,” Dean said.

“Balls…fine, what do you need?” Bobby said.

Dean explained the situation with Cas and Anna, and asked Bobby to pick up some pain medicine, noodles, canned chicken, carrots and chicken stock.

“Feeling homey today or something?” Bobby asked in a much softer tone.

“Just want to take care of Cas and Anna,” Dean said.

“I’ll get it. Be home in a few hours,” Bobby said.

“Thanks, Bobby. See you soon,” Dean said, hanging up the phone.

Dean looked at Anna and Cas. Of the two, Cas seemed to be in much worse shape. Of course, Anna had been bashed off a tree, so he was sure she wasn’t terribly happy either.

“Sam, I’m going to teach Cas the joys of taking a bath when you’re sore. Can you take care of Anna?” he asked.

“Look, I’m not helpless, you don’t have to babysit me,” Anna said, trying to stand up. She instantly got dizzy and had to sit down again.

“It’s no trouble, really. Here, let me put you on a show to watch, and I’ll make you some tea,” Sam said, grabbing the remote. “I know you haven’t got much experience, but I’m sure we can find something you like.”

“Family Guy should be on about this time,” Anna said, and Sam looked surprised.

“She’s been on Earth a long time,” Dean said with a grin. “Come on, Cas, let me get you up.”

Dean wrapped his arms gently around Cas and picked him up, carrying him up the stairs.

“I can walk, Dean,” Cas said quietly.

“You want me to put you down?”

“Not even a little bit.”

Dean gave a small laugh and walked into the bathroom.

“I know how to shower,” Cas said, looking confused. “Why do you need to show me?”

“Because I’m giving you a bath, not a shower. Much more relaxing. Take your clothes off while I get this ready. Unless you need help doing that?” Dean asked.

“As much as I wish you would undress me, I am far too sore to do anything sexual at the moment,” Cas said sadly, watching Dean turn on the water and test the temperature. 

Cas slowly and painfully undressed, finishing when the tub was nearly halfway full. Dean took down a bottle of shampoo and squirted some into the running tap. The tub began to fill with bubbles.

“Okay, Cas baby, let me help you in. Be careful, it might be slippery,” Dean said, taking Cas’ arm to help him.

Cas stepped into the warm water, and slowly sat down, relishing in the feeling of the warmth washing over him. 

“Oh, this is wonderful,” Cas said, laying gingerly back and feeling the bubbles creep up his sides as the water rose.

“I thought you might like it,” Dean said. “But don’t get too comfortable yet. I need to wash you off. You got kind of dirty down in Hell.”

Cas leaned forward, and Dean poured body wash onto his hands. He worked it into a lather, then massaged his hands over Cas’ sore muscles, drawing out contented moans from the angel. Dean used a plastic cup to rinse the suds off, then poured water over Cas’ head. He scrubbed some shampoo into Cas’ hair, then brought the cup up to rinse out those bubbles as well.

“Close your eyes. This stuff stings,” he said, and Cas obeyed. He quickly rinsed the shampoo out.

“Lay back now, baby. Just relax.”

“I am,” Cas said, closing his eyes. “You know, if I did not feel like your Impala had run over me, this would be a…what is it called? Oh yes. A turn on.”

Dean laughed.

“Maybe another time,” Dean said, turning to go back out the door.

“Please, stay,” Cas said, and Dean turned around right away.

“Anything for you.”

*

“So your brother and Cas...that’s cute,” Anna said after Dean and Cas had left for the bath.

“Yeah, we all should have seen it coming,” Sam said, watching Family Guy with a steaming cup of tea in front of him.

“And you’re okay with that?” Anna asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, we angels know the bond you and your brother have. I didn’t know how you would take Dean spending so much time with someone else,” Anna said.

“Honestly, I love spending time with Dean. But I love him being happy more than anything else, and Cas makes him happier than I’ve ever seen him. We’ll always be brothers, no matter what. And he’s been in the best mood for the past few weeks,” Sam said.

“And you?” Anna asked.

“I’m happy for him.”

“No, Sam. Are _you_ happy?” Anna said.

“I guess so. I mean, I’m okay. Just…”

“Lonely,” Anna finished.

“Yeah, I guess so. Dean has Cas, and I’m so glad he does, but I do get a third wheel feeling every once in awhile.”

Anna gave a tired smile, and reached over to hold Sam’s hand. Sam’s heart gave a small leap.

“You will find someone, Sam. And let me tell you, it’s a mark of your personality that you can feel happy for your brother and not jealous. Not many people would have that reaction.”

“Thanks, Anna,” Sam said, and the two of them turned back to watch t.v.

*

“Dean!” Cas yelled out suddenly in the bath.

“What? What’s wrong?” Dean said.

“I’m aging! Is this some kind of evil spell?” Cas asked in a panic, holding up his wrinkly fingers.

Dean laughed loudly.

“Oh my God, Cas, that just happens when you take a bath. Your fingers swell up and wrinkle. It’s okay, you should get out now anyway and get in some comfortable clothes,” Dean said.

Cas frowned.

“I don’t have any other clothing.”

“I know. You can borrow some of mine. Let me help you up,” Dean said, but Cas was already standing.

“Baths must have some kind of healing powers,” Cas said, stepping out onto the mat and taking the towel from Dean.

“It feels that way. Come on, let me get you to my room.”

He and Cas walked to his room. Dean could tell Cas was feeling much better now. He certainly moved like he was in less pain.

“Have a seat on my bed. I’ll find you something,” Dean said, digging in his drawers to find something for Cas to wear. Cas sat on the bed, finally feeling at ease. Dean was taking such good care of him. He was truly lucky to have him. Dean turned around.

“Found some stuff. It’s kind of old, but it’s comfortable. What?” Dean asked, when he noticed Cas looking at him.

“I love you, Dean.”

“I love you too, Cas. Are you feeling better?” he asked.

“Much. Though I am still not ready for anything too physical.”

“Don’t worry, baby. I have a way to relax your muscles even more, and you don’t even have to move,” Dean said, crossing the room and throwing the clothes on the bed.

Cas’ breath caught in his throat. He didn’t know what Dean was about to do, but he couldn’t wait.

“Dean?” Cas asked as Dean pushed him down slightly on the bed.

“In my experience, this is one of the best ways to relax your muscles. If it hurts, tell me,” Dean said.

He kissed Cas on the mouth, gently sucking and tugging at his lips until a small moan escaped from the angel. Dean reached down and began to stroke Cas’ dick softly, hardening it immediately. Then he moved to the floor, positioning himself on his knees. Cas sat up.

“Is everything okay?” he asked Dean, but Dean simply smiled and took Cas in his mouth.

Cas moaned, weaving his hands through Dean’s hair as Dean moved up and down on him. Cas gave a grunt and tried to thrust into his mouth, but stopped when he realized it hurt his back to do so. Dean sensed his frustration and picked up the pace, licking his tongue over Cas’ slit each time he came to the top. 

“That feels so good,” Cas said breathlessly, throwing his head back.

Dean kept up the pace. A sudden thought struck him. As he came back down on Cas, he let out a low hum. Cas nearly bucked off the bed, all thoughts of sore muscles forgotten. Dean enjoyed the effect he was having, and repeated the humming.

“Dean, please,” Cas begged frantically, wanting release.

Dean met his gaze and continued to bob his head up and down on Cas’ cock, humming at each deep throat. Cas looked like he was on the brink of letting go, and Dean wanted to watch him do it. Keeping his eyes on Cas, he reached up and gave his balls a small squeeze.

Cas gave a loud, raspy moan and came in Dean’s mouth, clutching the sheets in his balled up fists. Dean swallowed and took in the sight of the spent man in front of him, still coming down from his high.

“Feel better?” he asked.

“Much.”

“Let’s get some clothes on. Bobby should be home soon and I’m going to make dinner,” Dean said, helping Cas to his feet.

*

“Why are you sitting over there? Come over to the couch, there’s plenty of room,” Anna said to Sam.

Sam stood up and came to sit next to Anna to watch more of the Family Guy marathon. A sudden sound caught their attention. Was that…a moan? Sam clenched his eyes tightly and tried to scrub the image of his brother and Cas together out of his brain.

“That’s certainly one way to relax muscles,” Anna said with a grin.

“Come on, who hasn’t had sex with someone to relax, right?” Sam joked, taking a swig of his tea.

“I certainly have,” Anna said.

Sam choked on the drink in his mouth. 

“You-you have?” he asked once he had recovered the ability to breathe.

“Once or twice,” she answered with a wink. “I’ve been around a long time. I never seemed to catch much attention, honestly.”

“But you’re so-,” Sam began, but cut off, blushing.

“I’m so what?” Anna asked.

“Beautiful,” Sam said quietly, and Anna smiled at him.

“Sam Winchester, I do believe that’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” she said.

Sam smiled back at her. He vaguely noticed that they were leaning toward each other. Soon, their lips met. Sam brought his hand to Anna’s cheek, feeling the soft skin beneath his hand. They broke apart, nervously looking around the room at anything but each other. Sam’s eyes fell on Anna’s empty tea cup.

“More tea!” he said, seizing the opportunity to change the subject to something, anything, except the fact that he’d just kissed an angel.

“Wait,” Anna said. “I love tea, I really do, but I nearly died tonight. Do you have a beer?”

“Dean’s a borderline alcoholic and Bobby is a drunk. I think I can find a beer somewhere,” Sam said, walking off to the kitchen to grab her one. He found a beer in the back of the refrigerator, and opened it to bring to her. When he came back to the living room, he was surprised to see Dean and Cas had finally come down to join them.

“Feeling more relaxed now, Castiel?” Anna asked, a smile playing on her lips. Cas nodded.

“I think I like human remedies,” Cas said, casting a meaningful look at Dean.

Sam coughed and took his place beside Anna on the couch. Cas and Dean sank into armchairs, brushing arms and hands as often as they could, sharing knowing looks between them each time. Sam and Anna, on the other hand, were trying to keep their minds on conversation while looking for every excuse to touch knees or any other body part. 

A door opened, and Bobby walked in with his arms full of bags.

“There’s so much sexual tension in this room I swear it’s making me want to get laid,” he said to them.

“Hey, Bobby, let me help you with those,” Dean said, jumping up to take some bags from Bobby.

“Yeah, me too,” Sam said, following Dean and Bobby to the kitchen, closing the door behind them.

“You really are in love with Dean, aren’t you?” Anna asked Cas once they had the room to themselves.

“Yes, I am,” Cas answered.

“What does it feel like? I’ve never experienced it myself,” Anna said.

“Like you’ve never seen the world before, and suddenly you see it. All the colors, the beauty, the sounds. It’s the same Earth, but it might as well be an alien planet, because everything is new. And it’s breathtaking.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Anna said quietly. “And I must admit, I envy you for having found it.”

“Maybe you will too, Anna. But then you will have to make your choice.”

Anna’s eyes widened with realization.

“Does Dean know about the choice?” she asked.

“He knows I have to make one, but has no idea what it is about. I believe it would be unwise to tell him,” Cas said.

“Castiel, you have to tell him! If you make the decision alone, without consulting him, he will feel betrayed. Think about it from his point of view. He would blame himself.”

Cas nodded slowly.

“Yes, I suppose I should discuss it with him at least. I owe him that. But I need to ask you a favor, Anna,” Cas said, sitting up taller.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Sam Winchester. What do you think of him?” Cas asked, and Anna blinked, confused.

“He’s friendly, polite…kind, too. That’s about all. We just met,” she pointed out.

“I understand. But you enjoy his company?”

“The little I have had the pleasure to experience, yes,” she said, deciding Cas didn’t need to know about the kiss.

“Sam is a wonderful human, but he has had a rough life. I see the way he looks at Dean and I when we’re together, and I know he is lonely. I hope I’m not overstepping myself, but do you think we could all go on a…oh, what do humans call them? A date when you and I recover? He deserves an evening of happiness.”

“Castiel, are you trying to set me up with your boyfriend’s brother? Do you realize how inappropriate of a favor this is to ask?” Anna asked, laughing, and Cas looked mortified.

“Of course, no, don’t worry about it-,” Cas stuttered.

“You’re lucky I like the guy. Yes, sure, I’ll go on a date with Sam. But he needs to be the gentleman and do the asking himself, not his angel wingman.”

“I’ll talk to him after dinner,” Cas said.

*

“Dinner!” Dean’s voice said, as he came into the living room carrying a tray with three bowls balanced on it.

He put the bowls in front of Anna and Cas, then grabbed his own. Bobby and Sam walked into the room behind him, carrying their own as well as beers for everyone. They sat down to eat together.

“Good Lord, son, when did you learn to cook chicken noodle soup?” Bobby asked.

“During my time off. Ben loved it,” Dean said, before quickly changing the subject. Ben was still a sore topic to him. “Anyway, you did it, Cas. You stopped Lucifer.”

“Not alone. I couldn’t have done it without you and Sam. And Anna too, of course,” he said, nodding to her.

“Yeah, I was a lot of help getting thrown against a tree,” she smiled.

“You saved someone dear to me,” Cas said, with a tilt of his head, and Dean flushed. “And gave me just enough of a distraction to finally get Lucifer back in his cage. You’re all heroes to me.”

The rest of dinner passed in comfortable conversation. Dean couldn’t remember the last time they had all sat around and enjoyed a meal together in a house. No, he thought, not a house. A _home_. Soon, they finished their meal and began to tidy up, talking about sleeping arrangements.

“Sam?” Cas asked quietly, as the two took bowls to the kitchen sink.

“Yeah?” Sam answered.

“I need you to ask Anna out on a date,” Cas said, and Sam nearly tripped over his own feet.

“Wh-what? Why?” he asked.

“I want to take Dean out to a movie, and I don’t want to leave you alone here. Anna is a good angel. When she is less uncomfortable, I think we should all go out together.”

Sam stared at Cas.

“What if she says no?” he asked.

Cas just rolled his eyes and walked back into the living room, joining the conversation there.

“I’ll take the couch, Anna can have my bed,” Bobby said gruffly.

“I’m not taking your bed. I can sleep on the couch just fine. Besides, it still hurts to move,” Anna said.

“Fine. One night, until you’re less sore. Then it’s my bed, understand?” Bobby said.

“Yes,” Anna said with a smile. “Thank you.”

Dean stretched his arms above his head, clearly getting tired. Anna cast a meaningful glance at Cas, who nodded.

“Dean? Can I have a word in private?” Cas asked.

“Sure, come on,” Dean said, and led the way to his room, leaving Sam and Bobby looking slightly confused.

“Everything okay?” Dean asked, closing the door to his bedroom.

“It-well, no, not really,” Cas said, and Dean quickly closed the distance between them.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked anxiously.

“Do you remember me telling you I had a decision to make after Lucifer was back in his cage?” Cas asked.

“Yeah, of course. I thought it was some kind of angel war strategy thing. Like your next step,” Dean said.

“Not quite. Dean…there are certain rules on Heaven,” Cas said.

Dean waited patiently, but Cas didn’t elaborate.

“And?” he finally asked impatiently. Whatever the issue was, Cas was looking strained and uncomfortable talking about it.

“We cannot live full time on Earth and still maintain our Heavenly duties. So, if an angel were to fall in love with a human and decide to spend their time with them, he or she must become human to do so. Anything less would be a conflict of interest.”

Dean stood very still as the reality of Cas’ words swept over him.

“You mean you have to choose between being an angel or being with me?” he asked, and Cas nodded grimly. “Well, there’s no question, Cas. You have to be an angel. It’s all you’ve ever known. I can’t stand in the way of that.”

Cas felt a wave of panic.

“No, Dean, please-,” he tried to say, but Dean cut him off.

“I can’t have that on my shoulders. No way.”

“Dean, can’t you think about what I want? I can make my own decisions!” Cas said loudly.

“And you’re going to choose me? Dammit, Cas, if I had known this was going to happen-,” Dean began.

“Then you never would have fallen in love with me? It’s too late for that, and frankly, I don’t regret it at all! Having free will, having the ability to do what I want for the reasons I want…that’s not a bad thing. Of all of the things I could have done in this world, I fell in love with you. And I’m going to make my own decision about what to do about it!” Cas said.

Dean paused.

“You’re right. You can make any decision you want to. But Cas, be sure. Think about what you’re giving up to spend a few short years on Earth with me. Hunters don’t have long life spans. And even the average human lifespan will seem short to you.”

“I don’t have to give my decision to my superiors for a few days, Dean. I give you my word, I will consider everything,” Cas said, reaching up to give the hunter a kiss.

“Now come on. We can’t expect Bobby to do all the dishes himself,” Cas said, walking out of Dean’s room. 

Dean watched him a moment before following. Could he live with himself if Cas threw away his immortality? He had no idea. But he also doubted he could live without Cas either.

*

Everyone had gone to bed early that night. Bobby had disappeared to his room with a book, and Dean and Cas had gone to Dean’s room. Sam was getting ready for bed as well when he heard Anna give a small groan as he walked by the living room.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Much better than I was,” she said, struggling to adjust the blanket Bobby had given her for the night.

“Here,” Sam said, hurrying forward to help her.

Anna lay back on the couch, and Sam tucked the blanket in around her feet and up her sides, a slight flush coloring his cheeks as he adjusted it near her hips and waist.

“Such a gentleman. Not copping a feel at all,” Anna said softly, and Sam smiled.

“Yeah, well, one of us brothers had to be less of a ladies man,” Sam said.

“I think you sell yourself short,” Anna said, and Sam’s heart gave a small flutter as she reached out to touch his hand.

“Anna…when you feel better, would you like to go to a movie with me? I mean, like a double date with Dean and Cas?” Sam asked, feeling momentarily brave.

“I’d love that,” she said, and pulled Sam by the hand. He bent at the tug, leaning all the way down to kiss Anna gently.

Anna reached up and tangled her fingers in Sam’s hair. She turned her head and deepened the kiss, allowing Sam to push her lips open. Sam swirled his tongue around Anna’s, and she copied the motions, enjoying the sensation. Sam sucked slowly on her bottom lip, and Anna let out a tiny moan.

Sam pulled back, brushing his hair out of his face.

“That was amazing,” Anna said, and Sam laughed.

“You’re good at that for someone with hardly any experience,” Sam said, standing back up.

“Hey, I’ve watched movies before,” Anna said.

“I’m looking forward to that date,” Sam said, turning to go to his room.

“Me too. ‘Night, Sam,” Anna said.

“Goodnight.”

Anna rolled over, but soon found she had enough of her Grace left to not need sleep. She passed the night watching awful movies, and thinking about the special human she had met. If what Cas and Dean had was anything like what she felt coming on after only a day of knowing Sam, then she didn’t blame Cas at all for not wanting to let that go.


	6. Chapter 6

Dean woke up the next morning to a smiling Cas.

“Did you sleep at all?” Dean asked.

“Angel, Dean. Why do you keep forgetting that?” Cas teased.

“I guess you’re feeling better,” Dean said.

“I think I’m healed. I have all my Grace back at least,” Cas said, flexing his muscles to prove he could. Dean’s breath hitched in his throat.

“Yeah…yeah, I see that,” Dean said.

Cas grinned widely.

“I believe I still owe you from yesterday,” he said, and without waiting for an answer, climbed on top of Dean.

Dean could get used to the sight of Cas in boxer shorts sitting on top of him. And when Cas began to gently grind his hips against Dean’s, he knew the feeling would never get old. He reached up and grabbed onto Cas, pulling him into a kiss that quickly became passionate. Cas rolled his hips into Dean, causing him to thrust upward. Dean gave a small moan, and Cas sat back up. He pulled his boxers off, and Dean’s too.

“Damn, Cas, you’re ready to go this early?” Dean asked.

“What can I say, you do these things to me,” Cas said, climbing back on top of Dean and positioning Dean’s hard cock at his entrance.

“Baby, won’t this hurt without lube?” Dean asked, and Cas gave him a stern look. “Oh yeah, you’re an angel, that’s right.”

Cas started to the agonizingly slow process of taking Dean into himself. Dean, for his part, tried not to thrust or go crazy, afraid it would hurt the angel, no matter what he said. Within a few seconds, Dean was fully sheathed in Cas. He looked down at Dean, a fire in his blue eyes, and began to slowly rise and fall on Dean.

“Ah,” Dean groaned, rubbing Cas’ thighs as he rode him. 

The angel picked up the pace and began to make obscenely sexy noises, grunting and moaning. Dean couldn’t keep his eyes off of him. When Cas would come down, Dean would thrust his hips, bouncing him back into the air to repeat the delicious rhythm. 

“That feels so g-good,” Dean’s voice caught as he watched Cas.

Dean angled his hips upward and hit Cas right in the prostate.

“Unh! Right there!” Cas moaned.

Dean could feel the pressure beginning to build in his body. He knew he was close, and he wanted to finish with Cas. He reached out and wrapped his hand around Cas’ dick, rubbing it in time with Cas’ bounces.

Cas threw his head back and moaned loudly, shooting come all over Dean’s stomach. Seeing the white liquid shoot out and feeling the heat on his body was too much; Dean came inside Cas, yelling his name as he grasped his hips to thrust deeper. 

Cas rolled off to the side, breathing heavily, and Dean reached for a shirt by the bed to clean himself off.

“Baby, that was one hell of a way to wake up,” Dean said, putting his arm around Cas and pulling him in tightly.

“Mmm,” Cas mumbled out, enjoying the feeling of being so close. “Dean? How would you like to go to a movie tonight with Sam and Anna? If she is feeling up to it.”

“Sounds good to me. What did you want to see?” Dean asked.

“There’s a new horror movie out,” Cas suggested.

“If they’re fine with it, I am too. Come on, we better get up.”

*

Dean and Cas came into the kitchen to find Sam enjoying his coffee, and Anna sitting at the table next to him.

“Morning, boys. I think I’m all healed up!” she said, wiggling her body to show it didn’t hurt.

Dean noticed his brother’s eyes following Anna’s every move, and had to bite back a smile.

“Everyone up? Good, good,” Bobby said, walking into the room. “Listen, Rufus gave me a call this morning. He needs help on a wendigo case down south. I’m headed out in a minute to go his way. You all come and go as you please, you’ve got keys. I’ll see you in a few days.”

“Be careful. And thanks, Bobby,” Sam said.

“Yeah, thanks for everything,” Dean agreed.

“Anytime. Just try to stop nearly dying for a few weeks. It would make a nice change of pace. See you all soon,” he said, slinging his bag over his shoulder and heading out the door.

Everyone ate their quick breakfasts. Dean kept noticing Anna and Sam smiling at each other slyly, like they were sharing a secret between them. He gave Cas a small nudge under the table, catching his eye and nodding slightly at the pair. Cas’ eyes widened slightly, understanding.

“So do you two want to join Dean and I at a movie tonight?” Cas asked.

“Sounds great,” Sam said, tearing his eyes away from Anna’s. “What were you thinking?”

“How about Monster Murder?” Anna asked.

“The horror movie? Cas was thinking the same thing,” Dean said. “Kind of strange for a couple of angels, isn’t it?”

“Cas and I aren’t your average angels either,” Anna said.

Dean couldn’t argue about that.

After breakfast, Dean pulled Cas aside.

“Look, man, something is going on between Anna and Sam, and I don’t want to be in the way of it. Let’s make ourselves scarce for a few hours,” he said.

“Where do you want to go?” Cas asked him. “I have my Grace back now, we can go anywhere.”

“You decide. Let me just tell Anna and Sam,” Dean said, walking over to the two of them.

“Hey, Cas and I are going to head out for a bit. We’ll be back in time for the movie tonight though.”

Sam looked gratefully at Dean.

“Have fun. See you later,” he said.

“Yeah. You too,” Dean said with a smile.

“You ready?” Cas asked Dean.

“Sure. Let’s go,” Dean said, and Cas placed two fingers on his forehead.

Dean could feel the heat of the sun before he’d even opened his eyes, and smell the crashing of sea water against the shore.

“Oh my God, Cas, you brought me to the beach,” Dean said, opening his eyes and looking around him at the deserted sand. “Where are we?”

“A quiet, private beach off the coast of South Carolina. It’s one of my favorite places to go when I need some alone time,” Cas said. He began to pull off his clothes.

“What are you doing?” Dean asked.

“I’m a little overdressed for swimming, don’t you think?” Cas asked.

Cas stripped down to nothing and waded into the water until it was up to his waist level. Then he dove under, popping back up a few seconds later, wiping the water from his face.  
Dean swallowed, frozen in place on the beach. How could someone look so effortlessly sexy? He ran a hand through his hair.

“I didn’t bring you to the beach so you could stand on it. Can you swim?” Cas asked.

“Of course I can swim,” Dean said, pulling off his clothes before wading out to join Cas in the ocean.

Cas splashed at Dean before diving under the water and swimming off. Dean chased him. Cas was a much faster swimmer than he was. He hadn’t had much of a chance when he was growing up. Still, he caught up soon, scooping the angel out of the water and holding him close.

“Not bad. You’re faster than I thought you would be,” Dean said, and he leaned down to kiss Cas, tasting the intoxicating combination of Cas’ sweet kiss and the sea water. They stood in the water like that, holding close to each other and kissing whenever the moment felt right, pushed on slightly by the waves as they rolled toward the shore. 

One strong wave rolled in, pushing them so hard they nearly lost their balance. Cas wrapped his arm around Dean’s neck to keep from being pushed down, laughing. It was one of those rare moments when Dean actually heard Cas laugh out loud, like a regular human being, and it filled him with happiness. He pulled Cas back up and pushed his mouth to his. Cas responded quickly, lifting his legs up to wrap around Dean’s waist in the water.

“Kissing on the beach? Damn, Cas, what have you done to me?” Dean murmured into Cas’ ear.

“The same thing you have done to me, apparently,” Cas said, finding a sensitive spot on Dean’s neck and sucking slowly.

“Whatever it is, I like it,” Dean said, walking forward a bit so he could lay Cas down in the sand without drowning them both.

Cas made a small sound in the back of his throat as Dean lay down on top of him, water lapping at their feet. Dean smiled slightly. This was going to be fun.

Dean ground his hips into Cas’, staring into his beautiful blue eyes before bending down to capture his mouth in a kiss. Cas wiggled underneath him, enjoying the way their naked bodies moved easily on each other in the salt water.

Dean nibbled on Cas’ collarbone, causing the angel to heave a raspy breath. Dean’s hands were everywhere, touching and rubbing every inch of Cas he could reach. The sensation of his hands and the water rushing over him made Cas ache. He grabbed Dean by the waist, flipping the two of them over so he could be on top.

Cas began to kiss his way down Dean’s body, stopping to close his warm mouth over Dean’s hard dick. Dean gasped, the warmth at odds with the cool water.

“Mm, Cas, baby,” Dean moaned, arching his back to thrust himself deeper.

Cas swirled his tongue over Dean’s cock, tasting the salt water clinging to it. He bobbed his head up and down, taking Dean all the way into his mouth until his nose was resting on the man’s lower stomach. Once he was all the way in, Cas swallowed, causing Dean to moan above him.

“That feels s-so good,” Dean said, throwing his head back.

Cas sat up and held out his hand into the air.

“What are you-?” Dean began, but understood when a bottle of lube appeared in the angel’s hand. 

“Did you just angel-poof us some lube?” Dean asked, and laughed loudly.

“Yes, I thought I could use it,” Cas said, which stopped Dean’s laughter.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I would very much like to be a ‘top’ this time,” Cas said, bending over again to suck on Dean’s dick in the water.

“I-ah…okay, Cas…mmm,” Dean said.

Cas sat up and positioned himself between Dean’s legs, lubing up his fingers quickly. He had an idea of something he thought Dean might enjoy, but he didn’t want to ruin the surprise. He slowly circled a finger around Dean’s entrance, drawing groans from the man.

“Dammit, Cas, don’t tease,” Dean said through gritted teeth, and Cas smirked, pressing one finger into Dean. 

He pumped his finger in an out, savoring the look of pleasure on Dean’s face. He added another finger, scissoring them to open Dean up wider. Dean’s eyes met his, a look of neediness in them. Cas licked his lips at the erotic sight. He pulled his fingers out, making Dean give an audible sigh of frustration. Cas lubed his dick up, and lined himself up with Dean’s entrance, pushing slightly.

Dean moaned loudly as Cas pushed in some, then pulled out, drawing out the process as long as he could.

“Ah…”Dean breathed as Cas thrust into him deeper. “Don’t stop.”

But Cas didn’t give in. He kept up the tortuously slow process, pushing in only slightly deeper each time before quickly pulling out. Dean was grasping at the sand underneath him, trying to move his hips to get Cas deeper inside him. Cas gripped Dean’s hips tightly, not allowing him to move. Dean’s eyes met Cas’, and Cas grinned at Dean’s look of desperation.

“What do you want, Dean?” Cas asked, tilting his head slightly as he continued to slowly inch his way inside of Dean.

“Y-you. In me, all the way,” Dean said, momentarily stunned by how needy his voice sounded. Damn, whatever this game was that Cas was playing, it was hot.

“What do you say when you want something?” Cas asked, pressing slowly into Dean again.

“Please!” Dean nearly yelled.

Cas thrust suddenly into Dean, as deep as he could. The sudden intrusion made sparks fly in front of Dean’s eyes, and he moaned loudly, raking his hands up Cas’ back. Cas thrust into Dean over and over, fast and hard. Cas felt close to coming already, but knew he wanted to do one last thing for Dean. Cas sat up slightly, and grasped hold of Dean’s cock. He gave a small squeeze, then started to move his hand up and down. Cas’ hand began to glow slightly.

“Cas!” Dean yelled suddenly, rutting his hips as he came, shooting ribbons of white between them, much more than usual. The orgasm seemed to last four times longer than it normally did, and Dean clawed at everything around him, lost in the high of the moment.

The sight was too much for Cas. He sped up his thrusts, ramming into Dean, who moaned in ecstasy below him. He came within seconds, stilling as he emptied himself inside of his hunter. Slowly, he came down from the feeling, and rolled off of Dean. Both men lay in the shallow water, feeling the waves crash over them as they caught their breath.

“Cas,” Dean finally said, turning his head to look at him. “What the hell did you do?”

“I used my grace to give you a little gift,” Cas said breathlessly, smiling at Dean. “I extended your pleasure so you would feel it the way an angel does during sex.”

“You feel like that _every time?_ ” Dean asked.

“Of course,” Cas said, smiling.

“Damn, Cas. How is it that you don’t want to have sex all the time?” Dean asked.

“I would with you, if I could,” Cas said seriously.

Dean smiled and grabbed Cas hand, and they sat up to get a better view. As they lay in the sun, enjoying the beach like a normal couple, Dean thought back to all they had been through together. Hell, Purgatory, more monsters than a Grimm brothers book of fairy tales. And still Cas was next to him. No matter what Heaven, Hell, or anywhere in between threw at them, Cas was there.

“Cas…” Dean began, trying to find the words to explain to Cas what he was thinking.

“Yes, Dean?”

Dean tried to think of how to put it. How could he even describe the things he felt for Cas? It would take years to explain every little detail of the love and affection he had for this man sitting next to him.

“I just…I love you, Cas. I really, really love you.”

Cas smiled, and dropped his head onto Dean’s shoulder.

“I love you too.”

“No, I mean it,” Dean said, and Cas raised his head to look him in the eyes. “I love you. And damn, I’ve never loved anyone like this before. Look, I don’t do chick flick moments that much. But I know you’re thinking of giving up your Grace to be with me. Part of loving someone is wanting them to be happy. And if you’re happy being an angel, then I want you to be one, no matter where that leaves me.”

“Dean, I-,” Cas began, but Dean cut him off.

“I know you love me. Believe me, man, I do. But your happiness is so much more important to me. Besides, humans die. We age and we die, and we suffer a whole hell of a lot in the process. I want you to know what you’re getting into here. Promise me you’ll think about all of this. Please.”

Cas gave a small, slow nod. Dean sighed in relief, suddenly exhausted from the sex and the pure emotion he’d allowed himself to feel. He stood and moved further back on the beach, laying on the white sand to feel the sun beat down on his body. He was asleep in a matter of minutes.

Cas stared out across the ocean, thinking over everything Dean had said. He loved being an angel. But he loved Dean too. Sighing, he rose to go lay next to Dean in the sun. In all of his thousands of years on Earth, this was going to be the hardest decision he ever had to make.

*

Dean awoke, blinking in the fading sunlight. He gave a small stretch and gasped in pain.

“Son of a bitch!” he yelled. 

Every inch of his body was covered in a bright red sunburn. He looked down at his naked body. Yes, every _single_ inch was burned. He struggled to sit up, body aching and smarting with every move. He looked to his left and saw Cas asleep in the sand, just as naked, and just as burned.

“Dammit, Cas!” he yelled, and Cas opened his eyes and quickly sat up.

“Ow!” Cas exclaimed, wincing. He looked at Dean and burst out laughing.

“What the hell is so funny? I look like a cooked lobster here!” Dean said. “The one time you decide to take a nap…”

Cas continued to laugh.

“I don’t know, I guess I was just comfortable,” he said.

“Well, glad you think this is amusing. I’m not going to be able to move for a week,” Dean said, trying to stand up. Cas grabbed him by the arm and Dean grimaced.

“Sorry, Dean. Here,” Cas said, and Dean was instantly healed of his burn. 

Cas placed fingers on his own forehead and his burn vanished as well.

“Thanks,” Dean said in a softer tone. “Come on, we need to get back to the house and get ready for this date.”

Dean stood, pulling Cas to his feet, and the two set about putting their clothes back on.

“You did look quite cute,” Cas said, pulling his shirt over his head.

“What?” Dean asked.

“All red like that. You looked warm and soft, and extra sensitive,” Cas said, and Dean smiled in spite of himself.

“You can turn anything sexual, you know that?” Dean asked.

“It’s a gift.”

“Yeah, I think maybe it is,” Dean said, kissing the clothed angel softly. “Let’s go see Sam and Anna. I’m so ready for a normal date.”

“Dean, you and your brother have died, been possessed, been to Purgatory, and hunt monsters. Anna and I are angels. This is the least normal date I have ever heard of,” Cas said.

He reached for Dean’s forehead, and transported them back to the house. They walked to the front door, and Dean stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Cas asked.

“Make some noise. They may be, uh, ‘doing the deed’ in there, and I really don’t want to walk in on that,” Dean said, stomping his feet around on the porch, and Cas did the same.

He opened the door and walked in, only to find Sam and Anna sitting on the couch, engrossed in a special on Ancient Aliens.

“Good Lord, Sam, I leave you with a beautiful girl and you watch this crap?” Dean said, gesturing toward the television.

“I have to agree. Aliens didn’t do any of that. Angels did,” Cas said, squinting at the man with the strange hair on the show.

“Wait, what?” Dean asked, bewildered.

“Of course. Why would aliens be interested in building the pyramids if they were going back to their own planet? Angels wanted to see it, so we helped you build it. I personally put the last piece on the top of the largest one,” Cas said.

“Okay, you were right. This isn’t going to be a normal date. Let’s go get ready, Cas, baby.”

Anna stood as Dean and Cas left the room.

“Everything okay?” Sam asked. 

“Yeah, I just need to run an errand. Be back soon,” Anna said, disappearing with the sound of fluttering wings. 

She flew to a clothing store she knew from her time in New York, wanting to find something special. After all, she and Sam had enjoyed their day together. Sure, they watched bad television all day, but they hardly knew each other; they needed some time to get to know one another better. So there they had sat for the day, watching documentaries they discovered they both enjoyed, with Anna chiming in every few minutes about a fact she remembered from the time period.

Anna liked Sam. He was smart, liked to read, and basically a giant teddy bear. And he seemed to like her for who she was. Anna smiled, remembering the kisses they had shared throughout the day, the hand holding, the light touches of skin. She found a white sleeveless sundress, quickly paid for it, and flew back to the house to get ready.

*

“Anna! We need to leave in about five minutes!” Dean called up the stairs that night.

“I’m behind you. I’ve been ready, reading in the study for over an hour,” Anna said, walking to the living room with Dean and Cas.

“At least you can get ready on time. Where the hell is Sam?” Dean asked.

“Coming! My hair, man, I’m telling you, I just need to shave it off-,” Sam said, walking down the stairs. He caught sight of Anna in her white dress, red hair laying in curls down her back, and stopped in place.

“Wow, Anna…you look great,” he said, regaining some composure and walking down the rest of the stairs.

“Thanks, Sam, you don’t look awful yourself,” she said, noting the tight jeans and button up shirt. The two stared at each other, goofy smiles playing on their faces. 

Cas waited patiently, enjoying the interactions between the two of them. Dean coughed, breaking the moment.

“We ready? Time to head out,” Dean said.

“Shotgun,” Cas called, expecting Sam to argue.

“Yeah, sure,” Sam said, already absorbed in conversation with Anna as they headed for the door. Dean rolled his eyes and followed, locking the door behind them.

They rode to the theatre together, Sam and Anna giggling from the backseat like a pair of prom dates. Cas grinned at Dean, who turned the radio louder to drown it out. Dean caught Cas’ eye, and smiled widely, reaching across the seat to grasp his hand. Cas knew Dean may act tough, but he was enjoying seeing his brother happy.

Dean and Sam bought the tickets and snacks at the theater, then the group walked in to take their seats in the darkened room. Dean frowned slightly; they were the only ones there. Cas noticed the confusion on Dean’s face and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

_“I may have tampered with other people’s plans just a bit. We will be the only ones here tonight.”_

Cas’ breath tickled Dean’s ear, who resisted the urge to press his lips against Cas in front of the other couple. But instead, Dean just nodded, and he and Cas took a seat in the back corner of the theatre while Anna and Sam sat in the other corner.

Soon, the lights dimmed and the movie began to roll. Dean settled back comfortably in his chair, arm around Cas. Dean liked this kind of movie; it was about a group of friends getting stranded in the mountains. One by one, a monster of some kind began to snatch them away, storing them in some underground lair.

“Wendigo, has to be,” Dean said into Cas’ ear softly.

Cas closed his eyes at the feeling of breath on his ear.

“You are very distracting, Dean,” he said, as the monster on screen finally revealed itself.

“A werewolf? Really? That doesn’t fit the profile at all,” Dean whispered again, and Cas nearly shuddered from the feeling.

“Dean-,” Cas said.

“Oh, come on, man. You know a werewolf doesn’t horde people like that. This has wendigo written all over it.”

Cas sat up suddenly to look Dean in the face.

“Sorry, Cas, I didn’t mean to interrupt-,” Dean began, but Cas leaned in to whisper in his ear instead.

“Feeling your breath on my ear makes me want to feel it in another area. So unless you want me to undress you right here and now, stop talking,” Cas said.

Dean was momentarily shocked. Then he leaned in and pushed his mouth against Cas’. He tilted his head and parted Cas’ lips with his tongue, delving inside to explore every inch. He pulled back slightly, sucking gently on the lower lip before nibbling on it slightly.

“You were saying?” Dean asked playfully, finally pulling away.

Cas stared for a moment before crashing their lips back together. He palmed Dean’s hardening dick through his jeans, then unzipped them to pull it out. He stroked Dean’s cock gently, drawing out airy moans from the man.

“You have to be quiet,” Cas said, whispering. “Your brother and Anna don’t need to know what I’m about to do.”

Without hesitation, Cas leaned over and took Dean into his mouth, his head bobbing up and down. It took every bit of Dean’s willpower not to groan as Cas licked around the head of Dean’s cock, slipping his tongue over the slit. He brought his hand to Dean’s sack, squeezing slightly as he pushed all the way down with his mouth. He swallowed, causing his throat to constrict. Dean thrust upwards on reflex.

“D-damn, Cas,” he said quietly, playing with Cas’ dark hair as he continued to move.

Cas replied by speeding up his movement, deep throating Dean while squeezing with his hand. Finally, by accident or on purpose, Dean had no idea, Cas bared his teeth, grazing up the sides of Dean’s dick with just enough pressure to cause friction.

That was all Dean could stand. He grabbed onto Cas’ head with one hand, and the theater seat with the other, bucking wildly. He threw his head back and bit his tongue to keep from moaning out Cas’ name as he came in his mouth, shooting hot liquid down Cas’ throat.

When he finally stilled, Cas lifted his head and swallowed quickly. Dean made to grab at Cas’ jeans, but Cas pushed his hand away.

“Save it for now. I have bigger plans for you later tonight,” Cas said, a mischievous glint to his eyes. Dean felt his heart give a jolt. Whatever Cas had planned, Dean knew he would enjoy it.

*

Anna watched the movie through her fingers.

“Seriously? I know you’ve seen worse than this,” Sam said, leaning in to whisper quietly in her ear.

“I have, but that was real. This is fake. Anything could happen,” Anna said.

The werewolf on the screen jumped out from behind a tree to grab one of the characters. Anna gave a small yelp and clasped onto Sam’s hand. She released it quickly when she realized what she had done, and Sam smiled. He reached over to the hand that wasn’t covering her face and held it, moving his thumb over her palm to calm her down.

“It’s just a movie. You don’t have to watch if you don’t want to. We can talk instead,” Sam said, and Anna gladly looked at him instead of the horrors on screen.

“I have to know how it ends, though. That’s the only way I’ll get closure and forget about it. If I don’t see the end, I’ll know this thing could still be out there.”

Sam decided not to tell her that of course werewolves were out there. He just nodded his head in agreement instead.

“Then hold my hand. If you get scared, squeeze it as hard as you want to,” Sam said.

Anna turned her covered face back to the screen, knowing the movie would be over soon. Still, she squeezed Sam’s hand about twenty more times. Each time she did, it sent a jolt of excitement right through Sam’s chest.

*

Sam and Anna were still holding hands as they climbed back in to the Impala to go back to Bobby’s.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” she asked, and Sam grinned widely.

“I thought it was good. But those weren’t signs of a werewolf. I would’ve said-,” Dean began.

“Wendigo,” Sam said, cutting him off.

“Thank you! Cas thought I was being too picky,” Dean said as they got back on the road.

“I didn’t say that, I just pointed out that most people have never heard of wendigos before,” Cas said indignantly.

“Well, we aren’t most people. We fight bastards like that on a day to day basis. Us against them, baby,” Dean said, smiling and taking Cas’ hand in his. 

Sam grinned from the backseat. He liked this softer side of Dean. He squeezed Anna’s hand, and she lay her head on his shoulder, watching the sky pass by outside her window.

Soon, they pulled up to Bobby’s, and Dean unlocked the door for them to go inside. The house was quiet at such a late hour.

“I think I may take Bobby up on his offer to sleep in his bed, especially with him gone tonight. I feel like I may need to sleep. Something made me tired,” Anna said.

“Are you feeling sick again?” Cas asked in a worried tone.

“No, just sleepy, Castiel,” Anna said. She clasped her hand on his for a brief second. “But thank you for being concerned.”

A strange look passed over Cas’ face, which only Dean seemed to notice. Soon, though, Cas had stepped back and sat down on the couch. Dean sat next to him.

“I’m going to go to bed. Goodnight, boys,” she said to Dean and Cas, then turned to Sam. Before she could say anything, Sam spoke.

“Hey, could you come back on the porch for just a second?” he asked, and Anna looked slightly confused.

“Sure,” she said, and she walked out the door as Sam held it open for her. He closed it behind them, and turned to face Anna.

“It’s customary to say goodnight at the door after a first date. But since neither of us really live here, I didn’t know how to handle that part,” Sam said nervously, running his hand through his hair.

Anna laughed.

“You sure are a sweet man,” she said. “And thank you for that date. I had a really good time.”

“You barely saw any of the movie, you wimp,” Sam teased.

“Please, Sam, I’ve lived for thousands of years. I just went to Hell and back this week and fought against an army of demons,” Anna said, stepping closer to Sam. “Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I just wanted an excuse to hold your hand?”

Sam’s breath hitched in his throat.

“You could have just asked, if that’s what you wanted.”

“Oh, that wouldn’t have been terribly romantic,” Anna said, coming even closer.

“I don’t know, I like a woman who can take charge sometimes,” Sam said, leaning down.

“Fine. Sam Winchester, may I kiss you?” Anna asked, so close to Sam their lips were brushing.

“Hmm. Let me think about that,” Sam said, and Anna grinned.

Anna stood on her tiptoes quickly, raising up to press her lips to Sam’s. Sam wrapped his arms around her, feeling the soft tickle of her hair against his arms and breathing in the smell of something he couldn’t quite place, but he knew it smelled like Heaven. They broke apart, grinning like idiots.

“Thank you again for a wonderful date. Goodnight, Sam,” Anna said, and she turned to open the door. She walked in the house and up the stairs, barely waving to Cas and Dean as she passed. Sam walked in a few seconds later, a goofy smile spread across his face.

“So,” Dean said, as Sam sat down in a chair. “I’ll get us some beers, then you get to tell me all about what just happened.”

“You want to have a chick flick moment? Now?” Sam asked, and Dean rose to get the beers.

“Shut up and enjoy the moment,” Dean said.

“I don’t kiss and tell.”

“So you did kiss!” Dean said. “You owe me five bucks, Cas. I told you they would.”

“We are not having this conversation. Goodnight,” Sam said, blushing slightly as he headed up toward his room.

Dean quickly got Cas and himself a beer, and came back to the living room.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong with Anna?” Dean asked after tossing Cas a beer.

“No,” Cas said as he opened it.

“Wow. So no one wants to talk tonight. This is why I don’t do chick flick moments,” Dean said.

“No, it just isn’t my place to say. When Anna is ready to tell your brother, she will,” Cas said, taking a drink.

Dean sputtered.

“Tell Sam? Oh my God, is she pregnant?” Dean choked.

“Of course not! She just needed some time alone. Let it go,” Cas said, and Dean nodded gruffly.

The two finished their beers in relative quiet before Dean remembered something.

“Cas?” he asked. “At the movie, you said you had big plans for me tonight.”

A wicked grin stole across Cas’ face.

“That’s true. Unless you’re too tired?” he asked.

Dean doubted if he had ever felt more awake in his life.

“No, I’m good. Really good,” he said, and Cas took him by the hand, leading him upstairs to their room.

Cas closed the door behind them, carefully locking it. He turned around and caught Dean in his arms. Cas kissed him on his neck, starting on one side and working his way to the other, tongue licking at Dean’s collarbone when he worked his way down. Cas pulled on Dean’s shirt.

“This needs to come off. Now.”

Dean liked the forcefulness in Cas’ tone. He started to take off his shirt, and Cas tugged off his jeans and boxers.

“Lay down on the bed,” Cas said, and Dean obeyed. Damn, he liked this.

Cas raised his hand and Dean’s hands were lifted above his head, held there by an invisible force. He felt his ankles being held down in place as well.

“Cas, what…?” Dean tried to form words but found himself go silent when Cas began a slow strip tease in front of him. He slowly worked out of his shirt, letting it drop to the floor, followed quickly by his jeans and boxers, until he was completely naked and standing next to the bed. He climbed on top of Dean, who instinctively tried to bring his hands down to touch him.

“Not this time, Dean. You’re mine to play with tonight,” Cas breathed, before leaning down to start kissing a slow line down Dean’s torso. He moved agonizingly slowly, taking his time as he finally reached Dean’s solid cock. Watching Cas do these things to him had been a huge turn on.

Cas met Dean’s gaze, and worked the tip of Dean’s dick into his mouth. He swirled his tongue over it, barely touching it enough to cause any sensation at all. The feeling of it was driving Dean wild. He wanted to buck into Cas’ mouth, to feel the warmth and wet heat, but found his hips seemed to be held down as well.

“Dammit, Cas,” he groaned, unable to do anything. 

Cas kept staring into his eyes as he took more of Dean in his mouth, finally sinking down until his nose brushed Dean’s lower stomach. Then he rose back up slowly before repeating the whole thing over and over. Dean wanted to clench his eyes shut, but there was something about watching what Cas was doing that kept him from looking away.

Cas sucked hard, hollowing his cheeks, and Dean moaned. Cas grinned and sat up, positioning himself over Dean. He used the spit still on Dean’s dick as lube, and began to push Dean into himself, whimpering slightly. Dean felt the tight heat, but found he still couldn’t thrust. Finally, Cas lowered himself completely onto Dean, giving him a moment to feel the tightness before he raised up slightly. He sat back on Dean again, moaning this time, and began to pick up the pace.

Dean watched Cas bounce on his dick, eyes closing as he moaned.

“Ah… _Dean_ ,” Cas said, and the sound of Dean’s name on Cas’ lips made Dean want to fuck him senseless for the rest of eternity. 

Dean gave another involuntary thrust, and found his hips were finally free. He moved his hands and feet as well. Cas must have been so caught up in the moment he forgot to keep his bonds in place. Without hesitation, Dean flipped Cas over on the bed. A look of surprise crossed Cas’ face.

“My turn,” Dean grunted, and began to thrust mercilessly into the angel.

Cas reached between them and began to stroke his own hard dick. The sight only turned Dean on more.

“Mmm, fuck, Cas…you feel so good,” he said, thrusting hard.

He hit a spot deep inside Cas, and Cas’ eyes widened.

“Right there!” Cas moaned loudly. “Don’t stop!”

Dean pushed into the spot repeatedly, and Cas moved his hand faster to match Dean’s pace.

“Agh, Dean!” Cas yelled, and came in long ribbons of white across his chest.

Hearing his name again made Dean lose all control. He bucked hard into the angel, managing only a few strokes until he was coming too. He moaned a garbled version of Cas’ name as he emptied himself inside the angel. His arms felt weak as soon as it was over, and he pulled himself out to collapse on the bed next to Cas. Both men lay in the darkened room, breathing heavily.

“That…that was intense,” Dean finally managed to say, and Cas gave a short laugh.

“Yes, it was.”

Dean rolled over and took Cas into his arms, enjoying the feeling of skin-on-skin, and never wanting the moment to end.

“I love you so much,” Cas said, reaching out to feel the cheek of the man next to him.

“I know, Cas. I love you too.”

That was the last thought Dean had before he drifted off to sleep, safe in the arms of his angel. Cas stayed awake the entire night, not needing sleep anymore, but not wanting to move away from the warmth and comfort he had come to associate with his hunter. He lay there, arms and legs tangled with Dean, and thought about the decision that needed to be made. The answer came to him as clearly as if he’d always known what it was. He briefly considered waking Dean to tell him what he had decided on, but thought better of it once he saw how peaceful the man was sleeping.

_Dean has so little peace,_ Cas thought. _Let him have it now._

*

Dean stretched widely in the morning. He yawned, having a silent battle with himself over whether or not he actually wanted to get up. Cas rolled over to face him in the morning sun.

“Mmf. Morning Cas,” Dean said thickly, wrapping his arms around Cas and pulling him in tighter.

Cas pressed his lips against Dean, enjoying his sleepiness. Dean was just so cute. He sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Dean asked.

“I need to give my decision to my superiors today,” Cas said.

That woke Dean up better than anything else could have.

“Yeah?” Dean said, trying to act like there wasn’t a pit of dread in his stomach. “Well, we better get you dressed.”

Cas was confused.

“Don’t you want to know what I’ve decided?” he asked, standing to pull on his boxers, and Dean did the same.

Dean forced a smile.

“I know what I am, Cas. I know I’m a human, and no matter what, I’ll die. You’d be stupid to pick me over being an angel. But these past few weeks…that will keep me going. I’ll never forget it. And drop in anytime you want to. God knows we need all the help we can get.”

Cas couldn’t stand to hear Dean talk about himself this way, like he was some kind of grunt to be thrown away. He walked to Dean and kissed him deeply, drawing out a small moan. He pulled apart, but kept the man’s face in his hands.

“Don’t you ever think you are worthless. I have made up my mind, and I want you. I don’t care if it’s only a human lifetime, I don’t care if it’s only a week. Any amount of time with you is worth it. I love you,” Cas said, kissing Dean on the forehead.

“I love you too,” Dean said.

He couldn’t believe Cas would give up eternity for him. But it made him so indescribably happy to know that he wanted to. Finally, for once in his life, Dean felt like he was worth something more than just a soldier.

“And you’re sure about this?” Dean asked, as he and Cas pulled on the rest of their clothes.

“I have lived thousands of years before you, Dean. I know I could not bear to live thousands after you.”

Dean grinned widely, showing a rare, true smile.

“When do you have to meet them?” Dean asked.

“This evening. Why?”

“Let’s go have breakfast. Then I have some plans for us.”

*

Dean and Cas met up with Sam and Anna downstairs a few minutes later.

“Morning!” Sam said, busy making breakfast.

“Hell no, I’m not eating your cooking. Let me help,” Dean said, hurrying forward.

“Cas?” Anna asked quietly. “Have you made your choice?”

“I have. Come with me. The living room is much more private.”

Anna rose immediately and followed Cas to the other room. They sat next to each other on the couch.

“Well?” Anna asked anxiously.

“I’m going to become human, Anna,” Cas said solemnly.

Anna simply nodded.

“You suspected that?” Cas asked, surprised.

“Of course I did. You and Dean…there’s something there. Something worth every second of a mortal life you could have. I understand,” Anna replied.

“You do? How so?” Cas asked her.

“I think I am beginning to feel it as well. Sam is, well, quite the unusual human. He’s brave, and sweet. There’s just a connection, Castiel. It’s-it’s-,” 

“Impossible to deny or explain,” Cas finished for her.

“Yes. We haven’t known each other long enough to call this anything at all. Not like you and Dean, anyway. What do I do?” Anna asked, her eyes meeting Cas’ in desperation.

“Whatever you want to. That’s the beauty of free will.”

“Where are you two? Get in here, I saved breakfast!” Dean’s voice called from the kitchen.

Anna and Cas rose to join them, and were met with the smell of coffee, bacon and eggs. Anna looked curiously at the coffee urn.

“You know, as long as I’ve been on Earth, I have never tried coffee,” she said as the others took their seats at the table.

“Never? I’ll fix that right now,” Sam said, rising to make her a cup of the steaming liquid. “It’s really bitter, so you’ll probably want milk and sugar in it to make it taste better.”

Sam added enough milk to turn the coffee creamy, and scooped in some sugar. Anna had raised the cup to her lips when Cas spoke.

“Turn down your grace, Anna, or it will taste like molecules. Trust me, you do not want to taste coffee like that.”

Anna pushed her grace down inside, and brought the cup to her lips. She tasted the concoction, eyes locked on Sam.

“Well?” he asked.

“That is the best drink I’ve ever had.” 

Sam beamed with pride and pulled Anna’s chair out so she could sit.

“We’re going to leave you alone again today, if that’s alright,” Dean said between forkfuls of eggs.

“That’s fine. Why?” Sam answered.

“I have a special treat for Cas so he can enjoy his last day as an angel,” Dean said, patting Cas’ knee.

Sam sputtered on his coffee.

“His what? Dean, Cas, what did you do?” Sam asked when he could finally breathe again.

“It’s okay. Angels must choose between Heaven and love if they fall in love with a human. I made my choice,” Cas said.

Dean gave Sam a look that plainly said to leave it alone. They had a silent eye battle for a moment, but Sam finally gave in. He knew Dean wouldn’t let Cas do something like this without both of them thinking it through.

“Yeah, okay,” Sam said, turning back to his coffee. He looked over at Anna, who was still sipping on her drink with her eyes closed. It made him smile.

“That was good, Sam!” Dean said, standing from the table to put his empty plate in the sink.

“It would have been better if you’d actually slowed down enough to taste it,” Sam remarked.

“Man, I knew it had to be good because I saved it when you screwed it up,” Dean said playfully, smacking Sam on the back as Cas stood as well.

Dean took Cas’ plate from him and put it in the sink as well.

“We’ll be back soon,” he said, steering Cas toward the front door.

Sam heard it close, and sighed, shaking his head.

“What is it?” Anna asked him.

“It’s just Cas. He’s giving up eternity for Dean. That’s sweet and everything, but why would he give up the chance to live forever just for a few decades on Earth?” Sam asked.

“Because, Sam, forever is meaningless unless you have something to live for.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Dean? Where are we going?” Cas asked as the two stepped out into the morning sun.

“A couple of places. But you’re going to have to angel poof us there,” Dean said.

“I won’t be able to angel poof much longer,” Cas replied.

“I know, Cas baby. Trust me on this. Okay, here are some coordinates. Can you take us there?” Dean asked, showing Cas a piece of paper and pointing to the first set of coordinates listed.

Cas placed his hand on Dean’s shoulder, and the two were instantly transported to the large, empty field where the portal to Hell had been opened for the battle.

“Dean?” Cas asked, in worried voice, but Dean laughed.

“We aren’t going back to Hell. I picked this because it’s secluded. There are no people for miles around, and that’s kind of important for this,” Dean said.

“Why?”

“Because today is all about letting you experience the best parts of being an angel one last time. And one of those is flying,” Dean said seriously.

“Dean, that’s…thank you. But I don’t want to fly alone,” Cas said.

“Oh. Well, I could give Anna a call, and she could fly. I don’t know any other angels,” Dean said.

“No, I don’t need Anna. Hold on tight to my hand for a little bit. You’re coming with me.”

“I don’t know about that, Cas,” Dean said, but Cas had already grabbed his hand, and a strange lightness was pulsing through Dean’s body. Soon, his feet lifted off the ground completely.

“You can trust me,” Cas said, clasping firmly onto Dean’s hand, and waiting for approval.

When Dean nodded, Cas slowly lifted the two of them into the air. Dean tried to ignore the complete strangeness of the situation; being high off the ground with nothing visibly holding him up. Cas turned them upside down, and Dean gasped. Cas laughed, flipping them over again.

“You can’t fall, even if you let go of my hand. You’ll just float until I take us back to the ground. Watch,” Cas said, letting go of Dean’s hand. Dean’s breath caught in his throat and he clenched his eyes tightly, but he didn’t fall. He opened his eyes and looked at Cas.

“Why didn’t you do this before? Sam and I drove to every case,” Dean said.

“I can only do this to one human at a time. It didn’t seem fair to make one of you drive, so I didn’t do it to either of you.”

“Fair enough. How do I work this thing?” Dean asked, flapping his arms like he was swimming.

“Think about where you want to go. And you’ll go,” Cas said, proving his point by doing a quick backflip.

Dean concentrated and began to move. He started off slowly, hovering left and right, but was soon turning flips and speeding around tree tops. Cas laughed, and set off to chase him.

They made laps in the air, taking turns chasing each other and performing zero gravity tricks.

“Watch this!” Dean exclaimed, turning himself upside down and balancing off the top of a pine tree.

Cas laughed.

“Try this!” Cas said, holding on to a branch and spinning himself round and round like some absurd gymnastics routine.

Dean flew to him and slapped his rear, flying off quickly. Cas let go of the branch and zoomed after him.

“Come on, Cas, you’ve got years of experience on me!” Dean yelled, as he dodged Cas and set off in the opposite direction, laughing.

Cas came at him again, and Dean flipped over to the side, sending Cas whizzing past him.

“You can’t do any better?” Dean said, but found himself suddenly tackled, rolling through the air.

“Did it ever occur to you I was letting you win?” Cas asked before kissing Dean fiercely.

Dean had to say it was one of the most bizarre things to ever happen to him; even for a guy who hunted monsters, kissing in mid-air was pretty unusual. They broke apart, and Dean smiled at Cas.

“The day isn’t over yet. But we do have to get back to the ground,” Dean said, looking down. “That is, if you’re ready.”

“I’m ready,” Cas said, and he lowered to the ground. 

Dean felt the heaviness return to his body. He pulled the paper out of his pocket to show Cas the next set of coordinates. Cas placed his hand on Dean, and they were instantly there.

“Where are we?” Cas asked, staring up at the large brick building in front of him.

“The Houston Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” Dean said quietly.

“A-a hospital?” Cas asked. “Dean, you know I can’t heal people like that without permission.”

“No, Cas, this isn’t a typical hospital. These are war veterans dealing with emotional and mental issues. I know you aren’t supposed to heal people who are physically sick, but technically, they aren’t. You like to heal people. Call it a loophole.”

Cas nodded, and he and Dean walked into the hospital, going straight to the reception desk.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Mills, and this is Doctor Haley,” Dean said. “We’re here to interview some of your patients for our study on PTSD.”

“I wasn’t aware of any study,” the head nurse frowned.

“Ah, no, you wouldn’t be. See, in order for the study to be successful, the interview process has to be a surprise. Now, if you could, please give us a list of your most extreme cases.”

“I can’t believe she believed you,” Cas said quietly a few moments later, as they were on their way to the first patient’s room.

“Yeah, well, it’s all about looking like you belong. This is it,” Dean said, stopping in front of room 314. “Andrew Moss.”

Dean rapped on the door with his knuckles, opening it slightly. He saw a fragile looking man in a wheelchair, staring out of his third story window into the daylight.

“Mr. Moss?” Dean said, walking into the room. He let the door close behind him, and the sudden snapping sound caused Andrew to jump, his head jerking back and forth wildly.

“What? What do you want?” he asked, turning his wheelchair around to reveal he only had one leg.

“We just want to ask you some questions,” Dean said.

Cas walked over and sat in a chair next to the man. Andrew pushed back away from Cas.

“Don’t,” he said simply.

“Don’t do what?” Cas asked.

“Get too close. I’m poison. I leak into everything and everyone around me.”

Cas felt his throat constrict.

“You aren’t poison, Andrew. People who are good inside cannot be poison at all. Can you tell me about what happened?” Cas asked.

Andrew glanced around. Dean knew from his file that he hadn’t told anyone about what had happened in Afghanistan. But he seemed to open up to Cas immediately, even rolling his chair closer to him. Dean smiled. Cas was an angel in every sense of the word.

“It-it was my job to keep them safe. Me. We were walking down the road, and there was this damn kid, looked like he hadn’t bathed since he was born. He was so thin…so thin. And I had a candy bar in my bag, and I knew better than to do it, but I couldn’t just look at his little hungry face and do nothing, you know? So I-I took my eyes off the road. I didn’t look for bombs,” Andrew said, his voice starting to waver. “And I motioned for that kid, and I took out the damn candy. He was so happy to see me do it. He smiled this big, wide smile. He was just so damn _thankful_.”

Andrew stopped for a moment, tears streaming down his pale face.

“I didn’t know. How could I have known? The kid, he just…he starts to walk to me. He’s all bones, just dirty skin hanging off bones. And I hear it. He got to the edge of the road, so close to me. Like I could have thrown a rock and hit him, you know? And there’s this-this click. Then everything went black. Exploded out, covering everyone in dust. My friends, my-my _equals_ , they come running, trying to save the kid, but there’s just more bombs. The explosions, they start going off, and people are dying all around me, _because_ of me.”

At this, Andrew sobbed, slinging his arm across the table in front of him and knocking everything to the floor. Cas simply sat, not saying a word or moving an inch, waiting for Andrew to continue. Dean didn’t know how Cas knew the man wasn’t done talking, but Cas did.

“The worst of it was the kid. I mean, we’re soldiers. We go into this knowing we may not survive. But that kid? God, his _face_. I still see it every second of every day. Because he heard the sound, too. When he stepped on that bomb, he knew. It was over, and he knew it, all because some stupid American wanted to give him a candy bar. And my friends! Dead. Bodies and letters sent to their folks and wives and husbands, all because of me. And I _live_ , just without a leg. Son of a bitch.”

Cas leaned forward, silently asking approval to touch Andrew’s hand. When the man didn’t protest, Cas laid his hand on him gently.

“You were doing the best you could. There is no harm in trying to be giving and compassionate. You didn’t plant those bombs. You didn’t start this war. The world is at fault here, not you. And if everyone in the world had a soul like yours, there would never be another war.”

Cas’ hand gave off a gentle glow, and Andrew gave a small, genuine smile. He pulled a crucifix necklace out from under his shirt, fingering the gold cross lightly.

“Damn angel, huh?” he asked, and Cas smiled.

“For now.”

*

Cas closed the door to Andrew’s room gently behind him.

“So, is he…you know?” Dean asked.

“Healed? To the best of my abilities. We opened a door in him, let him know it wasn’t his fault. Now whether he chooses to leave the door open or slam it again, that is entirely up to him.”

Dean and Cas stayed at the hospital for a few more hours, speaking to patients with eerily similar stories. All felt they were responsible for terrible, terrible things. Finally, they closed the door on the last of the five patients the head nurse had told them about, hearing him breathe a heavy sigh of relief as they did so.

“You’re amazing, Cas,” Dean said, clasping his hand tightly in the hall. “Ready for the last coordinates?” Dean asked, and Cas nodded.

Dean felt the familiar pull in his stomach and opened his eyes. They were standing in a yard filled with cars on top of cars.

“Bobby’s?” Cas asked, confused.

“Yeah, Bobby’s,” Dean replied, turning to face Cas in the fading sunlight. “Come here.”

Dean grabbed Cas’ hand and led him to the Impala. He opened the door to the backseat and let Cas in, crawling in after him.

“I don’t understand,” Cas said.

“Listen, man, I never had a home growing up. We lived out of motels and duffel bags. But in this car, especially at Bobby’s house…I had a home. This is where I live, and where most of our story has taken place. In or around this car and this house. So I wanted to bring you back here and give you one last thing to remember being an angel by.”

Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out a small rectangular box. Cas took it from him hesitantly, feeling the velvet in his warm hands. He opened the lid to find a golden chain. Hanging from the bottom was a charm, simple and elegant, of a pair of angel’s wings.

“Dean,” Cas said, but couldn’t find the words to say what he meant.

“I know it isn’t much. But you’ll always have wings. You’ll always be an angel to me.”

“It’s perfect,” Cas said, and he put the necklace on gently, as though he were afraid of damaging it. When he was done, he gazed at Dean with admiration. 

“Now,” Dean said, pulling him close and kissing him. “How about you get one more chance to have some angel-mojo sex?”

Cas grinned against Dean’s mouth, and Dean started to laugh. Before long, Cas started too. The abnormality of it all, the complete strangeness of an angel and a man, sitting in the back of an old car, discussing magical sex, it all seemed wonderful. Dean and Cas laughed until their sides and faces hurt, holding onto each other in the twilight.

“D-Damn,” Dean said, when he finally recovered enough to breathe again. “We are seriously messed up.”

Cas hiccupped slightly, massaging his aching face with his fingers. 

“I wouldn’t have us any other way,” he said, and he leaned in to kiss Dean gently.

Dean responded by parting his lips, letting Cas explore his mouth more completely. Cas pushed Dean slightly, and Dean gently reclined on the long bench seat, Cas trying to never break their contact. Dean moaned as Cas pushed his knee against Dean’s erection, feeling the friction.

“Cas, baby, I don’t have room to take off my clothes,” Dean said, but Cas gave a simple snap of his fingers, leaving them both naked. “Shit, that would have saved lots of time before.”

Cas just mumbled his response into Dean’s ear, licking and nipping at the soft skin he found there. Dean gave an involuntary thrust upward, gasping slightly when he felt skin on skin. Cas moved back to capture Dean’s lips, drawing one hand down Dean’s body to grasp his throbbing cock. Dean grunted his approval, thrusting upward into Cas’ fist. 

“Mmm…Cas, I’m volunteering –ah, to be bottom this time,” Dean said. “With one c-condition.”

“What’s that?” Cas whispered into his ear, hand still moving furiously.

“You use your-dammit, Cas! Your angel mojo. On-on both of us,” Dean groaned, tilting his head back.

Cas took advantage of Dean’s exposed neck to kiss and suck his way from one side to the other, drawing contented sounds out of him.

“I think I can handle that,” Cas said, and he climbed onto Dean, positioning him at his entrance. “But I want to be bottom.”

“No lube?” Dean asked, happy to be able to talk without moaning again.

“Well, this is my last time as an angel. Use it while I’ve got it, I suppose,” Cas said, and he slowly sank down onto Dean’s cock, relishing the guttural sounds Dean made as he did so. 

In a moment, he was sitting all the way down. He started to rock his hips slightly, acclimating to the full feeling. Then he slowly pulled himself up before dropping suddenly down again.

“Ah, Cas. Mmm,” Dean moaned, and Cas picked up the rhythm.

Cas leaned down to kiss Dean, and Dean was more than happy to do it. He licked and sucked every inch of Cas’ mouth he could reach, leaving Cas breathless when he sat back up.

“Are you ready for this?” Cas asked. “You’ve never felt full grace before during sex.”

“Stop talking and do it already,” Dean said, bouncing his hips to keep Cas moving.

Cas kept up his pace, but moved his hands to Dean’s lower stomach. He concentrated a bit, though it was difficult to with Dean moaning and writhing beneath him. Slowly, he let his grace come forward into both of them, his hands warming the spot on Dean’s stomach.

Dean gasped. Every inch of him was suddenly feeling warm and tingling. He felt like his body was alight with electricity, and the current was pulsing between him and Cas.

“C-Cas?” Dean asked, but couldn’t form a question; Cas sent another pulse of his grace into Dean, and the electric feeling grew.

Cas rocked on Dean, and he felt Dean hit the spot deep within him. Underneath of him, somehow, Dean felt it as well, and the pleasure shot through his body at the same time, drawing moans from both men. Cas picked up the pace, reaching down to wrap his hand around his hard cock, mimicking the motions of his bouncing. His grace filled them both to the point that the Impala was radiating white light.

Dean felt on the edge of something, but whether it was him or Cas, he didn’t know. And it didn’t matter. Suddenly the electricity in the air jolted, and Dean and Cas were both coming at the same time, grasping onto each other and moaning each other’s names like their lives depended on it.

The light inside the car slowly came back to normal, and Dean and Cas met each other’s gaze.

“That was amazing,” Dean said breathlessly. “You sure you want to give that up?”

“Over and over, if it meant I got to stay with you.”

Cas slid off of Dean, and they sat back in their seats.

“I need to go, Dean,” Cas said, looking at the evening sky.

“I know. And you’re positive this is what you want?”

Cas snapped his fingers, and he and Dean were dressed again. He leaned in and kissed Dean gently on the lips, entwining his fingers into the other man’s hair.

“You have no idea how positive I am. I’ll be back in just a minute,” Cas said, but Dean grabbed onto his coat.

“Do I need to go? Won’t it take longer than that?” Dean asked.

“It will take about a minute of Earth time, Dean. Heaven and Earth perceive time differently. And no, you cannot come. Here,” Cas said, waving his hand so the radio kicked on, playing a familiar song. “I’ll be back before it’s over.”

Cas flew out of the car, and Dean lay his head back on the seat, listening to the song play.

_They say that the road ain’t no place to start a family. Right down the line, it’s been you and me…_

*

Cas flew to Heaven, feeling the light and peace surround him. He smiled. Though the feeling of Heaven was pure, and he loved it, nothing about it came close to the feeling he had around Dean. He walked into his favorite Heaven, as peaceful as he remembered it being, and observed the man flying a kite.

“Castiel!” a familiar voice called to him.

“Hello, Ezekiel,” Cas smiled at the angel.

“You’ve come to give your decision?” Ezekiel asked.

“I have. I wish to turn human.”

Ezekiel tilted his head, confused.

“You are unhappy with Heaven?”

“Not at all. I’m just happier with Dean. Being with him, even if it’s temporary, is worth leaving all of this behind,” Cas said.

“Very well. If that is what you want,” Ezekiel said, and he placed his hand on Cas’ forehead.

*

“Dean?” Cas asked a moment later, tapping on the glass.

Dean nearly jumped out of his skin. He clambered out the door, and Cas leaned in to turn off the radio. The simple human action made Dean’s flutter.

“You did it. You’re human,” he said, leaning back against the car. 

“I’m human,” Cas said, grinning widely.

“Cas…,” Dean began. 

He wanted to say something. He felt guilty for Cas giving up his grace.

“Don’t,” Cas said, reaching forward and holding Dean in his arms. “Really, Dean, this is what I wanted. Just this, holding you…I can feel the difference. It isn’t my vessel holding onto you. It’s me. I can feel you now, and I can see you. It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”

Dean smiled. If Cas was sure, then so was he. He leaned forward, kissing Cas fiercely on the mouth, and Cas whimpered in his throat. Dean pulled away.

“That’s certainly a new feeling,” Cas said. “I can feel your lips now, and taste your tongue…let’s do that again.”

They met again, Cas’ hands traveling over Dean’s body as though it was the first time he’d ever touched him. And, Dean thought, it probably was.

“Excuse me, boys,” a voice said from behind them, and they broke apart.

“Bobby!” Dean said, walking over to shake his hand. “You’re back!”

“Easy case. Rufus is such a newbie sometimes, I swear. What are we celebrating?” Bobby asked.

“I’m human now, Bobby,” Cas said, walking forward to shake his hand in the way he saw Dean do.

Bobby took it, confusion spreading across his face. He met Dean’s eyes, and Dean answered his unasked question.

“Angels can’t have human love and grace too.”

“Aw, hell. You chose Dean over grace? You damned fool,” Bobby said, but there was a smile on his face. “Come on inside, I’m going to throw my stuff down in my room and order a pizza.”

Dean and Cas followed Bobby inside the house, and stayed in the living room while he went upstairs to drop his bag.

“I bet you’re hungry,” Cas said suddenly. “We didn’t eat all day. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It was more important to me that you be happy,” Dean said, and Cas grinned.

A sudden shout drew their attention to the stairs.

“ _Dammit_ , boy!” Bobby’s voice echoed, and Dean and Cas heard Sam saying something as Bobby came back down the stairs. “Jesus! When did my house turn into a whorehouse? Can’t even walk in my own damn room without seeing two people going at it!”

He stomped past Cas and Dean into the study. A moment later, Sam came running down the stairs, red in the face. He went into the study, apologizing profusely.

“No, Sam, I don’t want to hear it. You wash those sheets this second. And just- _go_. Go on, now,” Bobby said loudly from the other room.

Sam walked by Dean and Cas, still blushing.

“Get caught, Sammy boy?” Dean asked with a serious face.

Sam gave him the mother of all bitch faces, and turned to storm back upstairs. Dean looked at Cas, and both of them laughed so loud and hard they had to sit down on one of the couches. God, it felt good. It felt right.

Bobby stayed in his study and Sam and Anna stayed upstairs, only coming to the same room when the pizza man showed up. Bobby dug out some money and paid for the pizzas, mumbling his thanks before closing the door. They opened the boxes and began to eat, a swelling silence filling the room.

“That’s good,” Cas said, chewing the pizza with his eyes closed, and Dean smiled.

“Yeah. About time you got something from the pizza man other than porn ideas. But, you know, I’m sure Sam has some tips,” Dean said, barely holding in his laughter.

“Shut up, Dean,” Sam said, and Dean couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Cas met Anna’s eyes across the table, and she started to giggle too. Before long, everyone at the table was laughing so hard they had tears streaming down their faces. Dean couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like this. Everyone was happy, no one was dying, and for a brief moment, the world was at peace.

“Oh, God,” Bobby said, leaning back in his chair. “We’re just going to have to start putting ties on the doors or something.”

The rest of the meal passed in happy conversation, with Bobby filling in everyone on the case he’d worked. When dinner was over, Dean and Sam helped Bobby clean up the mess, and Anna and Cas went out onto the porch.

“So, you’re human now, huh?” Anna asked, and Cas nodded. “How do you feel?”

“Different,” Cas admitted. “But really good. Great, actually. It’s strange. All of my senses are heightened. When Dean and I kiss, it’s amazing. And the fact that I could die tomorrow makes it all feel so much stronger.”

Cas shrugged, and reached out to take Anna’s hand.

“And you? You and Sam must have acted on your connection,” Cas said.

“We did,” Anna said bashfully, tucking her hair behind her ear. “And Cas, it was…amazing.”

“You have a decision to make as well,” Cas said gently.

“I do. And I have already discussed that with Sam. I give my answer to Ezekiel tomorrow morning.”

“Or now,” a voice said from next to them.

Cas and Anna turned, Cas instinctively stepping in front of Anna.

“Relax, Castiel,” Ezekiel said.

The door behind him opened, and Sam and Dean came out onto the front porch. They tensed, but Cas lifted his hand to tell them everything was fine. Still, they came over and stood next to Cas and Anna, and Ezekiel tilted his head in a birdlike way.

“I had to come see this for myself. What it could be that is causing the angels to fall whenever they find a Winchester?” he said, without malice in his voice; it was more of a curiosity.

“You cannot possibly understand, Ezekiel,” Anna said, stepping up next to Cas.

“Ah, Anna, don’t tell me you’ve already decided,” Ezekiel said.

Anna turned her head back to briefly glance at Sam. He gave her a reassuring nod.

“I have,” she said, standing straighter. “I want to be human.”

Ezekiel laughed sharply.

“Of course you do. But will that change in thirty years, when your body is failing, and everything hurts? When Sam and Dean look like wrinkled, scarred versions of themselves? What then?” Ezekiel asked.

“Then it will have been thirty wonderful, life-filled years,” Anna replied.

Ezekiel looked Anna over.

“If you are so sure, then come here,” Ezekiel said, and Sam was touched to see that Anna didn’t hesitate.

Anna stood in front of Ezekiel, who put his hands on her face. A silver liquid began to pour from her mouth and nose. It was over in seconds, and Anna staggered back against the rail.

“That’s all?” she asked, but Ezekiel had gone.

“How do you feel?” Sam asked, rushing forward.

“Let me check,” Anna said, and she grabbed Sam’s face and brought it down to kiss him.

Dean curled his nose up, but Cas smiled. Sam and Anna broke apart, and Sam looked like he’d just had the kiss of a lifetime.

“Wow, Cas, you were right!” Anna said, and reached up to kiss Sam again, who was more than happy to do it again.

“What did you tell her?” Dean asked, trying to ignore the lust radiating his direction from his brother and Anna.

“The truth. How everything feels new. Like this,” Cas said, closing the distance between them and kissing Dean deeply.

No one heard the screen door open, or Bobby step out. He glanced at the couples on the porch, then quietly stepped back into the house.

“Son of a bitch,” he said to himself.

But he was smiling.

Dean and Cas broke apart, and Dean glanced over to see his brother and Anna still going hot and heavy on the porch. He grinned widely.

“Come on, Cas,” he said, grabbing him by the hand and leading the way into the house.

Bobby was sitting on the couch in the living room.

“You lovebirds done? ‘Cause I think I’ve caught a case out in Georgia,” Bobby said.

“Yeah?” Dean replied, interested. It had been awhile since he’d been on a case. “What is it?”

“There’s an old asylum, Central State Hospital. It’s been abandoned for years. But you know how stupid kids are, they keep breaking in. It happened a few days ago. These four kids broke in, and now three are missing.”

“And the fourth one?” Dean asked.

“He made it out, but he’s in bad shape. The paper says he can’t talk. You in?” Bobby asked.

“Hell yeah. Sam!” Dean yelled out, and Cas kicked him.

“Let him alone,” Cas said, but it was too late; the door opened and Sam walked in with Anna.

“What?” Sam asked.

“We’ve got a case. Pack your stuff, we need to go,” Dean said.

Bobby looked gruffly around the room before clearing his throat.

“Looks like you all have it covered. Four hunters don’t need a fifth tagging along,” he said.

“There’s only two hunters going,” Dean said fiercely, and Cas rolled his eyes.

“Please, Dean, it’s not like I’m helpless without my grace,” Cas said.

“I never said you were, Cas, I’d just feel better if you-,” Dean began.

“No,” Cas said simply, and Dean threw his arms up in resignation.

“Fine. But Anna-,” he tried again.

“I didn’t become human to sit on a couch all day. I’m going,” Anna replied with a stony stare.

Dean looked to his brother for help, but Sam just shrugged, a slight smile playing on his lips.

“Dammit, okay then. Pack up, all of you, we’re leaving in thirty minutes.”

*

They piled into the car, Sam riding shotgun and the two fallen angels comfortably in the back seat.

“You all be careful,” Bobby said, leaning down to talk through Dean’s window.

He glanced back briefly at Cas and Anna.

“You’ve got fresh meat,” he added under his breath to Dean, who nodded.

“Got it,” Dean said, clapping the man on the shoulder. “We’ll be back before you know it, so don’t get too used to having your house empty.”

“I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if it stayed that way. Be careful, boys. See you soon. And you too, Anna,” Bobby said.

He waved at them as they pulled away, feeling as nervous as any dad would when sending his kids out into the world alone.

Dean waved back before bringing his arm into the car.

“We’ve got a couple of days’ worth of driving here, but when we stop off at a hotel in a few hours…,” Dean began, wondering how best to phrase his statement.

“Two rooms. I agree completely,” Sam said with a smile.

Dean grinned back, getting comfortable in his seat and kicking the radio up.

*

They pulled into a slummy motel a few hours later, and Sam went to the lobby to get their rooms. He came back with two keys, and rooms on opposite sides of the motel, a sly look on his face.

“I guess we’ll see you in the morning,” Sam said, opening Anna’s door and taking her by the hand. 

“Yeah, well, try and get some research done on the crazy bin, okay?” Dean said, getting out of the car to grab his and Cas’ bag and motel key.

“Got it,” Sam said, leaving with Anna.

Dean shook his head and went to open the door to his room with Cas. He sat the bags down in a chair, closing the door behind them. Cas suddenly shoved Dean against the door, kissing him deeply and roaming his hands over every inch he could reach.

“Damn, Cas,” Dean said breathlessly. “If I had known you wanted to do this I would have found a motel hours ago.”

Cas just laughed.

“I’m human now. The whole ride, I was thinking about how wonderful it must feel to have sex with you, if kissing you feels so good to me.”

Dean didn’t respond. He just kissed his former angel harder, working to pull his jacket and clothes off as quickly as possible. Cas’ hands fumbled with Dean’s clothes as well. Both were moving so clumsily in their need to have each other that their hands kept bumping each other, frustrating the process. Finally, blissfully, their clothes were off, though thrown all over the room. Dean shoved Cas gently back toward the bed, but Cas grabbed Dean’s shoulders and slung him down first.

“Still as strong as ever,” Dean breathed, and Cas began to pepper his body with kisses, scraping his fingernails up his sides as he did.

Cas kissed down Dean’s muscular body, finally coming to his hard dick. He kissed around the base, making Dean thrust with need. He met Dean’s gaze, and took him in his mouth. Dean moaned, fighting the desire to clench his eyes shut. He wanted to see Cas’ beautiful blue eyes, pupils blown wide with lust.

Cas bobbed his head up and down. He pushed Dean all the way into his throat, and gagged slightly, unused to feeling it this way. He recovered quickly and kept the pace, humming gently each time his mouth dropped all the way down.

“C-Cas…stop, baby, I don’t want to come like this,” Dean said, and Cas sat up with a confused look on his face.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

“Oh, _hell_ no. It’s your first time as a human. I want you to know what it feels like…here,” Dean said, reaching into the pocket of his discarded jeans and tossing Cas a tube. “I’m bottom this time. Trust me, you’ll love it…and so will I.”

Dean leaned forward and took Cas in one hand and himself in the other. He began to move his hands in a steady rhythm, drawing glorious moans from Cas, who thrust into his hand.

“Hand me the lube,” Dean said, and Cas complied immediately. Dean squirted some in his hand, and massaged it onto Cas’ dick, feeling the slickness of it. “You’ll have to do the next part.”

Cas took the bottle back and put some lube on his fingers. Dean lay back on the bed and Cas gently pushed one finger into his entrance, pumping slowly. Dean groaned, and Cas added another finger, scissoring Dean’s opening wider. He pushed his fingers in and found the bundle of nerves inside, brushing against them slightly. Dean’s hips bucked.

“Please, Cas,” Dean begged, and Cas took his fingers out.

He pushed the head of his cock against Dean and slowly pushed in. The feeling of tightness and heat was unbelievable. He pressed the rest of the way inside, taking in the sensations and the scandalous sounds Dean was making underneath him. He moved his hips back, then slid in again, brushing against those same nerves inside Dean, who moaned loudly. That was all it took.

Cas picked up his pace, slamming into Dean again and again. He grunted, amazed at the difference in the way he could feel things now. It felt so much better, even without his grace, because he knew he could feel Dean with his own body now.

Dean’s eyes clamped shut as he bucked his hips wildly. 

“Cas,” he moaned, and Cas reached down to take Dean into his hand, jerking him in time to his thrusts.

“Ahh…baby,” Dean said softly, opening his eyes to meet Cas’ stare. 

The look of love and desire in Dean’s eyes was more than Cas could take. He felt a growing heat in his lower stomach, and thrust deeply a few more times before he felt his dick begin to pulse.

“Dean!” Cas yelled, and the sound of his name on Cas’ lips made Dean fall over the edge too.

Dean thrust into Cas’ hand and came, shouting Cas’ name as he did.

They collapsed, panting, onto the motel bed, covered in sweat. Dean grabbed his shirt off the floor and quickly wiped himself off before turning to Cas and kissing him gently on the forehead.

“How’d that feel?” he asked, still catching his breath.

“I’d very much…like to do that…every day,” Cas said, pulling Dean in close and giving him a kiss.

“I love you, Cas,” Dean said, curling up into Cas and closing his eyes.

“I love you too,” Cas said, and he closed his eyes too, sleep overtaking him much faster than he ever remembered before.

Dean woke up early the next morning, surprised to see Cas still sleeping peacefully in the bed, his arm casually slung over Dean’s middle. Carefully, Dean picked his arm up and tried to move it, but Cas pulled him in closer, mumbling. Dean gave a small laugh, and tried to move his arm again.

“I don’t care if I’m angel or human, if you try to move right now I will smite you,” Cas said into the pillows, and Dean lay back down to look at him.

“Come on, Cas baby, we need to get up and get back on the road,” Dean said.

Cas turned his head and opened his sleepy eyes. He blinked in the morning sun.

“Waking up has to be the worst part of the day as a human. I don’t know how you do it every day,” Cas grumbled.

“It beats the hell out of the alternative, that’s how. Besides, that’s why God made coffee. Get up,” Dean said, kissing Cas lightly on the lips before swinging his feet off the side of the bed.

Cas grudgingly heaved himself out of bed, and he and Dean threw their clothes back on. There was a knock at the door, and Dean opened it to reveal a messy-haired Sam and a barely conscious Anna. He let them in, and Sam immediately opened his laptop to discuss the case with Dean, while Anna slumped down into a chair next to Cas.

“Waking up early-,” Cas began to say.

“Sucks,” Anna finished, yawning widely.

“Aw, look at you two,” Sam grinned before setting the computer down. “Look at this, Dean. Apparently, back in the sixties, the workers at the hospital moved the cemetery, and threw the markers away. No one is even sure where the boundaries are anymore. And if they moved people, then I’m sure some pieces got left behind.”

“Awesome,” Dean said. “How are we going to put these spirits to rest if we can’t find the bodies?”

“That’s the thing. It may not be the patients at all. In the fifties, there was a doctor who performed lobotomies on his patients. There are some recorded successes and failures, but lots who don’t have anything listed at all. They could have died,” Sam said.

“So it may be this bat-shit crazy doctor still trying to do experiments? Perfect. Do we at least know where he’s buried?” Dean asked.

“Yeah, but we need to make sure it’s him that’s doing it first. We need to check out the building, talk to the police, and talk to the kid, if he’s awake,” Sam said.

“Sounds like a plan. What do you think, Cas?” Dean asked.

But there was silence. Dean and Sam turned to look at Cas, surprised to see that he and Anna had lay their heads on each other and were fast asleep again.

“Seriously? Come on, let’s get going,” Dean said, crossing the room to wake them up.

“Wait, Dean,” Sam said, grabbing onto his jacket. “Come with me first.”

Dean followed Sam out the door and around the corner to a cappuccino machine. He punched in a basic order, and quickly made two cups for the fallen angels. He gave one for Dean to carry, and they brought them back to the room, where they found Anna and Cas in the same position they’d left them in.

“Anna?” Sam said, gently pushing on her leg. “Wake up, sweetie. We need to leave.”

Anna’s head jerked up quickly, startling Cas, who sat up right away.

“What?” Anna asked, looking confused. “Oh yeah…yeah. I’m good. Let’s go.”

“Here,” Dean said, handing Cas the cup of steaming cappuccino. “This should help wake you up.”

Sam gave Anna hers as well, and he and Dean left them to drink their breakfast while they loaded the car back up.

“This will take some getting used to,” Anna said, pressing her fingers into her eyes in an attempt to force them open.

“Yeah, it will,” Cas said, glancing out the window at the two hunters laughing as they loaded the car. “But it’s worth it.”

The group drove throughout the day, stopping only at a fast food place for lunch, and made it into Georgia by late that evening. They pulled into a decrepit hotel overlooking some creek with scraggly dead trees along the shore, and Sam went in to check out their rooms. He came back a few moments later, holding out a key.

“Just one room tonight,” he said. “Apparently, there’s this Harry Potter convention in town, and we got the last room. The manager said every other hotel around here is sold out.”

“A Harry Potter convention?” Anna asked excitedly.

“We don’t have tickets,” Sam reminded her, and she gave a small pout. “So I say we order in some Chinese food and watch a movie. We can’t do anything more about the case until we interview the police tomorrow anyway.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Dean said, hoisting his bag out of the trunk. “I call the shower first.”

They made it into their room a few moments later, and looked around. Two beds, a computer desk, and a television. Dean was pleased to see the beds were at least queen sized. Sam cracked open the phone book to order their food.

“I’m going to make a beer run to that convenience store across the street. Be right back,” he said, and he grabbed his wallet.

Sam dialed the number to the Chinese place and began to arduous task of speaking to a non-native speaker over the phone.

“Yes-yes, delivery. No, d-delivery. Uh huh. Four orders of white rice. No, four. Not fried, no,” he said.

Anna leaned in close to Cas.

“Have a good night last night?” she said, and wriggled her eyebrows.

“The best. And you?” Cas asked.

Anna gave a dramatic sigh and flopped back on the bed.

“Amazing, of course. I’ll spare you the details, but Sam really knows how to use his-,”

“Room 318. Yeah…yeah, thirty minutes, got it. Thank you, bye,” Sam said and hung up the phone. He glanced over at Anna, who was grinning widely, and Cas, who looked scandalized.

“What?”

Dean walked back in the door, carrying a case of beer and a pie.

“Dude,” Sam said, shaking his head.

“It’s been a long day of driving, Sam. Don’t judge me. I’m going to take a shower. Don’t touch my pie,” he said, pointing a threatening finger at his brother.

“No worries. There’s so many ingredients in there, it’s like a science experiment anyway.”

*

Forty five minutes later, everyone had taken their turns with a quick shower, were changed into their pajamas, and had their slightly cold Chinese take out in front of them.

“Why don’t they just give us forks?” Dean said, struggling with the bamboo chopsticks.

He looked up to see that he was the only person in the room having any trouble at all.

“Aw, come on. You two weren’t even human two days ago, and now you can eat with these?” Dean said.

“We’re _old_ , Dean. We’ve been playing around with these things since China invented them. Watch,” Anna said. 

She sat one stick down on the computer table and placed the other on top, like a see-saw. Then she put her egg roll on top of it, before quickly slapping her hand on the end of the chopstick to send the roll flying. She caught it effortlessly in her mouth, and winked at Dean.

“Angelic show-off,” Dean muttered, and tried to eat his eggroll. He gave up, and stabbed it with the chopstick instead.

Sam laughed.

“The hotel offers a few choices in movies. We’ve got an old horror, a love story, and a western,” Sam said, reading off the paper.

“Horror,” Anna and Cas said in unison.

“Beats the other two,” Dean said, moodily jabbing his food. He gave up, lifting the container to his mouth to shovel it in.

“Didn’t I pick a charmer,” Cas said.

Soon, they were done eating, and they settled back into the beds to watch the movie. Anna flipped the lights off before climbing into the bed with Sam, and Dean looked at her questioningly.

“It’s a horror movie. I needed to set the mood.”

She settled back onto the bed, and Sam wrapped his arm around her before pressing play on the remote. Cas snuggled up to Dean, his breath tickling Dean’s chest and his warm hand pressed onto Dean’s stomach.

Dean gave a contented sigh. Tomorrow was sure to be filled with danger, but for now, all was right in their world. He pulled Cas closer to feel his warmth as the black and white movie began to roll.

*

They pulled into the town early the next afternoon, and immediately set about making plans to begin the investigation.

“Okay, Sam, you and Anna handle the interview. Cas and I will head to the asylum and take a look around,” Dean said, and Sam nodded.

Dean dropped off Anna and his brother at the police station and he and Cas drove to the abandoned mental hospital. Dean parked the car, and he and Cas rummaged around in the trunk for supplies.

“Alright, Cas, you stay behind me when we’re in here. Don’t go off on your own,” Dean said.

“I’m not helpless,” Cas said in a slightly hurt tone.

“I know, Cas baby. But you don’t have grace,” Dean said.

“Neither do you,” Cas said, and Dean sighed.

“Fine, you got me. Just stay close. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Dean and Cas quickly picked the lock on the door, looking around to see if anyone had noticed. They slipped silently into the building.

“Look at the size of this place,” Dean said, his voice echoing in the long empty halls.

He and Cas crept along, shining their flashlights into the rooms as they passed. For being daylight, it was still remarkably dark inside. Each room they passed was similar: pale, chipped and peeling paint, dirty floors, a smooth pattering of dust and grime. Some rooms had filthy abandoned beds, unmade as though the occupants had just woken up. Dean gave a shudder. This was one eerie place.

“Why do teenagers insist on breaking into the creepiest places they can find?” Dean asked.

He and Cas turned the corner to find a morgue. They walked in cautiously, examining the old cubicles with their metal doors hanging off the hinges. The room reeked of formaldehyde, and the smell of an attic that’s been closed up for years.

“Dean,” Cas said suddenly, pointing across the hall. Dean saw the door, marked with the name Dr. Franklin Vancouver. 

“That was his name, Cas. The doctor who liked to poke people’s brains to see what it did. Come on,” Dean said, and he and Cas walked across the hall to the doctor’s door.

Dean opened the door with a noisy creak. He looked around the dusty office. Jars upon jars of old brains lay about the room, covered in a film of dust. Dean noticed some jars were cracked due to the heat and chill of years in the abandoned building. He made a mental note to watch his step to avoid brain juices. Here and there were files of patients, some with pictures. Dean looked away from the pictures, trying to erase the look of pain on their faces from his mind immediately.

He heard a noise to his right and looked up, directly into the face he recognized from photos as Dr. Vancouver himself. The doctor made a terrible face, motioning toward the hall before reaching for Dean.

_Bang._

The doctor vaporized in front of Dean, and Dean turned to look at Cas, who was holding a salt gun in his hands, still aiming at the spot the doctor had been standing in.

“Still think I’m useless without grace?” he asked with a tilt of the head. 

Dean was about to answer when the door slammed shut, plunging him and Cas into darkness. Dean fumbled to get his flashlight turned on, but there was no need; in the dark, he could see the flickering forms of at least four ghosts.

*

“Well, that was useless,” Anna said, as she and Sam walked the block from the police station to the hospital, preparing to interview the boy who survived. “You would think, wouldn’t you, that living in a small town this long meant that they would know something about that mental hospital? But no. Just a ‘we don’t know why kids go there’ and an old file on some nurse?”

“You’d be surprised how often that happens,” Sam said, and he and Anna walked into the hospital, heading straight for the reception desk.

“Yes, we’re here to see Taylor Graham,” Sam said, flashing his FBI badge at the woman. “I’m agent Moffatt, and this is my agent in training, Mrs. Winchester.”

Anna gave a quick blink at the name, but said nothing.

“He’s in room 348. But he hasn’t said a word since he came out of surgery,” the nurse said.

Sam thanked her, and he and Anna rode the elevator to the third floor.

“Mrs. Winchester, eh?” Anna said, and Sam actually flushed. “Don’t act shy. That was adorable.”

Sam was saved having to respond by the elevator doors opening. They hurried to Taylor’s room, and found him staring out the window, and a nurse picking up his untouched lunch tray.

“FBI,” Sam said, once again showing his badge, and the nurse nodded.

“I’ll get out of your way, then. His parents should be back soon. They just went down to get something to eat,” the nurse said, and she left them.

“Taylor?” Sam said, coming over to his bedside and trying to get his attention. He glanced down at the boy’s leg, wrapped in bandages and bloodstained. “Hey, I know that hurts, but I need you to talk to me. I’m investigating what happened at the asylum, and I need your help.”

Taylor made no effort to acknowledge anything Sam had said.

“Come on, man, I know this has to be hard. But I’ll believe anything you say. I really will.”

The kid remained silent, and Anna stepped forward, placing her hand on Taylor’s and kneeling beside the bed to talk to him softly.

“Hi, Taylor. I’m Anna. Listen, whatever happened in that asylum, it wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t your imagination or a hallucination. Nothing you can say will surprise us. Sam, that man there…he’s been to Hell. I used to be an angel in Heaven. And I swear that’s the truth. We’ll believe anything you say. But my friends are in that asylum right now, looking for whatever hurt your friends. And I could use your help to make sure they’re safe.”

Taylor blinked, then slowly looked Anna in the eyes.

“I can’t tell you,” he said, his voice raspy from being unused. “You’ll say I’m crazy and I’ll get locked up in an asylum…like that one.”

“Sweetie, I just told you that I’m a fallen angel. I think you could do the same to me,” Anna said, squeezing his hand.

Taylor gave a weak attempt at a smile, then began to speak.

“We just went there to drink. Everyone says the place is haunted, but come on, who believes stuff like that? So we got Amy’s sister to buy us some beer, and we broke in. We’d been there a few hours when we started hearing these…awful sounds. Screams. Like someone being stabbed over and over. We just thought it was Amy’s sister and her friends screwing with us. So Amy got up to go check. And-and she screams. There was this man. Except he-he wasn’t a man, you know? Just like, dense air. He looked like a doctor, and he just kept pointing down the hall. Then Amy ran.”

Taylor choked up a little, and Anna gave his hand another squeeze.

“She ran down this hall, and we followed her. We ran into this morgue looking room, and closed the door behind us. But these women, they appeared out of nowhere. They looked like the doctor, except they were more real. Like, they looked like people, just faded out. And they charged at us. I watched them claw at Amy…they-they pulled her apart. Just piece by piece. They grabbed Josh and Steven, and pulled them to bits too. I saw-I saw a window, and I grabbed for it. But when I was almost out, one grabbed my leg. She pulled and clawed. I thought for sure she’d torn it off. But then I was out of the window. And there was this car passing by. I screamed and waved my hands. Then I blacked out. That’s all I remember until I woke up here.”

“Taylor!” a woman yelled from the hallway. “You’re talking!”

“Mom, I’m sorry-,” Taylor said, but his mom squished him unto a hug.

“Don’t apologize, baby, it’s fine. Everything is fine,” she said.

Sam and Anna quietly backed out of the room, leaving them alone.

“So the women were the killers, not the doctor? It sounds like he was trying to warn the kids,” Anna said, and Sam nodded.

“That would explain the only criminal file. A malpractice suit against the charge nurse for inhuman treatment of patients,” Sam said. “I need to call Dean.”

“Call a cab while you’re at it,” Anna said, as they left the hospital. “I can’t fly anymore.”

“You’ve reached Dean. Leave your message.”

“Dammit! He’s not answering!” Sam said, quickly looking up a cab company on his cell phone and dialing the number. “Yes, can I get a cab sent to Bedford Hospital? As fast as you can, please.”

“He’ll be fine, Sam,” Anna said.

“I don’t know, Anna. I just have this feeling that something isn’t right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for part 1! We'll find out what happens in the sequel, Witches and Winchesters. By the way, the mental institution discussed in this chapter is a real place in Georgia, and it's terrifying. Thanks for reading!


End file.
